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Abundant, renewable, and free, wind energy has been the fastest growing energy source since 1990. Installed wind capacity worldwide at the end of 2003 stands at over 40,000 MW, doubling since 1999, and ten times the 1994 total. Forecasts of global turbine sales in the coming years vary.

In March 2004, BTM Consult forecast world total install capacity could exceed 95,000 MW by the end of 2008. This forecast does not anticipate a cost of generation breakthrough such as WTC intends to accomplish.

 

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More Wind Power Links   

American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) :  A nonprofit organization that promotes wind power. Excellent source of news on projects and growth of wind energy in the USA as well as the world. Joining their mailing list discussion group for small wind energy systems is a must if you are considering putting up a wind turbine.

American Wind Energy Association (AWEA):  Since 1974, AWEA has advocated the development of wind energy as a reliable, environmentally superior energy alternative in the United States and around the world. AWEA’s Green Power Factsheets provide answers to basic questions about Green Power, including what it is, the rationale for purchasing it, and procedures for buying it.

Ampair, UK:  We hope you can spare some time to look through our pages.
Our products give you your own independent electricity source, whether for work, home or leisure.
The Energy is Natural, Clean, Quiet, Non-Polluting and it’s FREE.

Atlantic Orient, Canada:  Our focus is production of the worlds most reliable industrial-sized wind turbine. We believe that using simple, robust technology is the key to successful installation of wind turbines in remote locations.

Bergey, USA:  Bergey Windpower is the world’s leading supplier of small wind turbines. With installations in all 50 U.S. States and more than 90 countries, and an international network of ~ 600 dealers, we have the products and experience to put the wind to work for you.

Bornay, Spain:  Spain’s largest wind energy dealer.

CanWEA :  is the Canadian Wind Energy Association, and has good resources about wind systems.

Cape Wind:  The Cape Wind Website explains the details, challenges, successes, and news updates of America’s first proposed off-shore wind project on the Nantucket Sound.

CYCLONE, China/Canada:  The Cyclone is our exclusive line of wind turbines with a low wind speed rated output.

Endless Energy:  Endless Energy is a Maine wind farm development company dedicated to developing clean, renewable wind energy, promoting economic development, and reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels.

EnergyRefuge:  EnergyRefuge.com provides alternative energy news, environmental articles, and energy saving tips.

ENTEGRITY WIND SYSTEMS, Canada:  Welcome to Entegrity Wind Systems Inc. (EWSI), manufacturers and distributors of the EW15 wind turbine.

Eoltec, France:  Eoltec is an experienced engineer owned, Wind Energy Systems designer and manufacturer Cie, focused on the development and production of medium size wind turbines (6 to 300kW). Started early 2001 with location in Nice/France, Eoltec’s target is to provide to customers an up-to-date and cost effective solution to bring maximum power out of wind.

EPRI’s Wind Energy Program:  The Electric Power Research Institute’s Renewable Technology Options & Green Power Marketing Highlights.

Flowtrack, Australia:  The Flowtrack Wind Turbine is a 5KW, up wind, horizontal axis, two bladed machine. Completely designed and manufactured in Australia, the Flowtrack combines the computerised aerofoil design of the blades from Newcastle University, with extremely robust inductive generation.

GUAL INDUSTRIE, France/Spain:  The totally silent mechanism of the StatoEolian, combined with its compact and robust structure allows an integration in all terrains and environments. This is why its now possible to integrate it into an urban surrounding. Everyone will be able to have their own source of 100% renewable energy within the comfort of their own home.

IWEA:   is the Irish Wind Energy Association, and provides news and wind resources.

KESTREL, South Africa:  Kestrel Wind Turbines is a fully black empowered South African company that actively supports equal opportunity. The factory is situated in the industrial area of Jet Park near to Johannesburg International Airport, Gauteng.

LVM, UK:  Formed in 1973 LVM specialises in products for use with low voltage DC power supplies. Our guiding philosophy has been to ensure that a UK company can design, manufacture and distribute products both in home and world markets. It is of prime importance that we respond to the changing needs of our customers, ensuring that the quality of our products meets the most exacting standards, offering technical help and advice whenever it is required.

Marlec, UK:  Marlec was formed in 1979 by our founder John Fawkes who subsequently received a wind energy pioneer award from the British Wind Energy Association. As an engineer he was asked to investigate methods of keeping batteries topped up on farms to operate electric fence units.

Michael Klemen’s Small Wind Website:  Michael Klemen conducts research on 4 small wind turbines and posts performance data on line, as well as audio and video information. Research papers, articles, and data acquistion information give thorough detail on wind resources and power production.

MIKE’s WINDMILL SHOP, USA:  Welcome to Mike’s Windmill Shop! We strive to bring you high quality products at a great price! We pride ourselves in our friendly and prompt customer service. We offer wind generators, charge regulators, tower plans, blades, permanent magnet alternators. We are always adding something new so check back often to see what we have.

Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3) :  Provides many pages of wind energy information, including a wealth of links research and other organizations, wind industry companies, federal government resources and wind energy publications and miscellaneous information.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory:  DOE’s laboratory for renewable energy research located near Golden, Colorado

National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC):  A U.S. consensus-based collaborative formed in 1994, NWCC identifies issues that affect the use of wind power, establishes dialogue among key stakeholders, and catalyzes appropriate activities to support the development of an environmentally, economically, and politically sustainable commercial market for wind power. NWCC members include representatives from electric utilities and support organizations, state legislatures, state utility commissions, consumer advocacy offices, wind equipment suppliers and developers, green power marketers, environmental organizations, and state and federal agencies.

National Wind Coordinating Committee:  The NWCC website including publications, member listings, working groups, and wind events.

National Wind Technology Center :  is a US government program that supports wind research and development.

National Wind Technology Center  :  is operated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. The National Wind Technology Center’s focus is on research and technology transfer. It is designed not only to be a center for research, but a technology magnet for a new industry.

North Carolina Solar Center Wind Programs:  The North Carolina Solar Center offers research, reports, and various wind programs focused in Eastern North Carolina, including an Anemometer Loan Program.

North Carolina State Energy Office:  The State Energy Office is North Carolina’s lead agency for energy programs and services and is the official source for energy information and assistance for consumers, businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations, schools and policy-mak

North East Wind Energy, USA:  Unique tower designs…

NRG Systems, Inc.:  NRG Systems, Inc. has been providing wind monitoring equipment since 1982. Their website gives an overview of their product line as well as basic wind energy information.

OTHERPOWER.COM, USA:  We are a group of alternative energy enthusiasts who want to spread the message that It’s EASY to make your own power FROM SCRATCH! Otherpower.com’s headquarters is located in a remote part of the Northern Colorado mountains, 15 miles past the nearest power pole or phone line. All of our houses and shops run on only solar, wind, water and generator power…not because we are trying to make some sort of political or environmental statement, but because these are the only options available. And we refuse to move to town.

RENEWABLE DEVICES/SWIFT TURBINES, Scotland:  Renewable Devices have developed the Swift Rooftop Wind Energy System™, the worlds first silent, building-mountable wind turbine.

RENEWABLE DEVICES/SWIFT TURBINES, Scotland:  Renewable Devices have developed the Swift Rooftop Wind Energy System™, the worlds first silent, building-mountable wind turbine.

Renewable Resource Data Center (RReDC):  Provides information on several types of renewable energy resources in the United States, in the form of publications, data, and maps. An extensive dictionary of renewable energy related terms is also provided. The News section announces new products on the RReDC, which is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy’s Resource Assessment Program and managed by the Photovoltaics Technology Division of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

ROPATEC, Italy:  Vertical axis machines.

SAMREY, UK: As concern over Global Warming increases, the cost of fuel increases and the natural resources of the world diminish, many people are turning to small scale power generation using energy from the wind, sun and water.

Scoraig Wind Electric, Scotland:  A fantastic Scotish website devoted to helping you build your own turbine.

Synergy, Hong Kong:  Synergy is an integrated renewable energy resources company which engineers the most economical and sustainable power solutions for remote areas all over the world. SPC has designed systems for villages, schools, clinics, telecommunications sub-stations, over flight beacons, religious buildings, demonstration sites, grid boosting, water pumping, grid peak shaving, grid interactive systems, and many other applications.

The Alternative Windmill :  site offers sketches of a Savonius windmill water pumper that is in use in Australia.

The American Wind Energy Association :  is a national trade association that advocates the development of wind energy as a environmentally-friendly renewable energy source.  Their website contains a wide variety of information on wind energy, publications and events.

The American Wind Power Center:  located in Lubbock, TX, is dedicated to the preservation of American-style windmills.   Currently, there are 50 rare, unusual and beautiful windmills in the indoor exhibit and additional windmills covering the 28 acres of the Windmill Park.

True Winds:  True Winds offers services including wind resource modeling, site identification, permitting, wind resource assessment, wind turbine layouts, energy production forecasts, transmission screening analysis, interconnection engineering, photo simulations, noi

U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy :  page includes publications databases, information on wind turbines and wind-related inventions and more. 

WCOM Community Radio, home of the Home Power Hour:  WCOM is grassroots community radio. Listen online. Check out the Home Power Hour.

WESTWIND, Australia:  Westwind is an internationally renowned manufacturer of high quality and robust 3kW, 5kW, 10kW and 20kW wind turbines. Westwind have supplied turbines, towers and turbine controllers for use in many different applications around the world since 1984.

Wind and Agriculture: USDA Farm Bill Section 9006:  The USDA Farm Security and Rural Investment Act to provide grants and low-interest loans for farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses to implement wind and other renewable energy technologies.

Wind Energy Basics:  Provides information about wind, including how wind turbines work, advantages and disadvantages of its use, wind energy use throughout history, U.S. wind energy resource potential, and current research and development.

Wind Energy Finance Website :  Operated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, this website allows users to calculate online the cost of electricity generated by a wind system. The website lets users create a new project on screen (or modify an existing project) by entering values for numerous assumptions step-by-step until enough information has been entered to calculate the project cost. Projects added or modified are stored convenience and are available the next time a user logs in.

Wind Energy Technology:  Extensive listing of new releases and publications of the DOE’s Information Bridge.

Wind Power for Electricity Providers:  NREL’s resources of information pertinent to Utility Providers including introduction, markets, interconnection, and state-of-the-art wind technology.

Wind Power Monthly Magazine :  is published in New Zealand but has back issue article abstracts searchable online. Good place to find worldwide news items about wind power.

Wind Powering America :  The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America site provides state-by-state wind project information, including validated wind maps, anemometer loan programs, small wind guides, legislative briefings, wind working groups, and state-specific news.

Wind Powering America:  The US Department of Energy’s Wind Power Program to increase the use of wind energy in the United States, with emphasis on establishing new sources of income for American farmers, Native Americans, and other rural landowners, and meet the growing dem

WINDMISSION, Denmark:  Windmission is a small Danish family owned company. Over the years specialized in turbines equipped with Windflower rotors, quiet multi bladed super wind roses with a high efficiency.

WINDSAVE, Scotland:  Windsave Ltd. was formed in January 2002 to develop a Commercial and Domestic small wind turbine generator system using low wind speeds to create electricity, avoiding the use of batteries. The Windsave System can be roof or wall mounted and feeds electricity directly into the property on the consumer side of the meter, reducing the consumption and cost of electricity from the Grid.

Windustry :  working to create an understanding of wind energy opportunities for rural economic benefit. Windustry promotes wind energy through outreach, educational materials, and technical assistance to rural landowners, local communities and utilities, and state, regional, and nonprofit collaborations.

Windustry:  A non-profit organization"working to create an understanding of wind energy opportunities for rural economic benefit. Windustry promotes wind energy through outreach, educational materials, and technical assistance to rural landowners, local communities and utilities, and state, regional, and nonprofit collaborations." Website provides a host of useful information on wind energy, including tecchnology information, examples of community wind energy projects, wind energy curriculum, wind energy calculator, resource library, and more.

Windustry: Leasing Land for Wind Power:  The Windustry Site offers information on land leasing and easement options for wind power installations.

• American Wind Energy Association
• National Wind Technology Center
• Small wind generators for the home

1.356 joules = 1 foot-pound (pound of force x one foot distance)

1 joule = 0.7375 foot-pounds.

OK, maybe you don’t like the problems associated with my sailboat idea.  How about a sailtrain?   If a wind sail could be used to generate electricity on a boat, perhaps it could also work for a special railroad train.  Perhaps a special track would be laid to take advantage of some prevailing winds. The train generator, along with some smaller pilot trains, would deploy a very large sail.  The sail would capture the wind and pull the train down the tracks.  Special wheels on the train would lock onto the rails, preventing the train from being lifted off the ground.  Generators on the train would convert the motion into electricity.  The electricity would be fed to a power grid, using power cables positioned at the side of the train tracks, thus eliminating the need for any energy to be stored.

Maybe the track system would be 50 miles long, constructed to form a long narrow oval shape.  Two trains might work together.  One might be generating electricity while the other was running quickly back to the starting line.   When each train reached the end of the track, it would fold up its sail and quickly loop back to the beginning of the large oval track at high speed, taking perhaps less than an hour.  This two-train method would keep the energy flowing as long as the wind was blowing

With sufficient separation, multiple trains could also run on the same set of tracks, further increasing the energy collection.  With a 5-mile separation, 10 trains could be running on the same 50 mile long set of tracks.

If the average daily power was only 25 megawatts per train, a 10-train system could produce 2.2 million megawatt hours of energy per year.  At a price of $100 per megawatt hour, such a train could make 220 million dollars per year.  

Sure, there might be a problem with birds.  Rain could make the sail too heavy to be deployed.  During severe weather, the sail would have to be folded up quickly to avoid being torn apart.  Still, I like the idea of producing clean electricity without any pollution, without any ash to dispose of and without needing any water or other resources.

Lighter wind conditions would require the ship to stay out at sea longer, before its cargo hold was full of energy.  On the other hand, a period of heavy wind conditions would speed up the process.   As an example, a 45-MPH gale would allow the ship to fill its cargo three times faster than a 30-MPH breeze.

It is not clear what energy storage method would be used for such a system.  Perhaps gigantic flywheels or maybe some new super capacitor technology would work.  Wind sail and rope materials that would do the job already exist.   A one-inch diameter rope made from “Vectran” material has a tensile strength of 110,000 pounds.  Such a rope weighs 34 pounds per 100 feet so even a mile of it would only weigh 1,795 pounds, or about 2% of its tensile strength. 

The idea is still rough.  There are all kinds of things that would have to be worked out.  As an example, there may be some concerns about trapping birds in such large sails. Perhaps the sail would be designed with holes in it, allowing birds to fly through.  Environmentalists may dislike the idea of large under water propellers.  But, I do think these concerns could be minimized.   This sailboat energy generator idea does have the advantage of not using up dry land but it does require that the energy be stored in some way.