Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation.
Today, wind power is generated almost completely using wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.
In 2024, wind supplied over 2,494 TWh of electricity, which was 8.1% of world electricity.
With about 100 GW added during 2021, mostly in China and the United States, global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW. 30 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind power in 2024 and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015. To help meet the Paris Agreement goals to limit climate change, analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year. (Full article...)
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is an offshore wind energy project located about 24 nautical miles (27 miles, 43 kilometers) off the coast of Virginia Beach in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, U.S. CVOW is being developed by Dominion Energy and is the largest offshore wind project under development in the U.S., covering a lease area of 112,800 acres and expected to have a capacity of 2.6 gigawatts (GW). It is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the electricity consumed by 660,000 homes. The wind farm will consist of 176 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD fixed-bottom wind turbines, each of which has a capacity of 14.6 megawatts (MW) and a 222 meter rotor diameter. Dominion expects that the project will cost $10.7 billion.
CVOW is one of the first commercial offshore wind farms built in U.S. federal waters and aims to contribute substantially to Virginia's renewable energy targets which call for a total offshore wind capacity of 5.2 GW by the end of 2035 and 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The project is the only offshore wind farm in the U.S being developed by a state public utility company (Dominion) as opposed to a private developer. This offers it more flexibility in changing electricity prices in response to project cost changes, which is not an option of private developers with fixed-price agreements. CVOW is expected to create 900 construction jobs and 1,100 jobs once in operation, as well as $210 million in economic output once operational. (Full article...)
Most power stations in South Africa are owned and operated by the state owned enterprise,Eskom. These plants account for 86% of all the electricity produced in South Africa and ~20% of all electricity produced on the African continent. In terms of share of GDP in 2012, South Africa was the 4th largest investor in renewable power in the world after Uruguay, Mauritius and Costa Rica. (Full article...)
Tjasker OssenzijlThe tjasker (West Frisian: jasker, German: Fluttermühle) is a small type of windmill used solely for drainage purposes. It is distinctive for its simple construction, featuring only a single inclined shaft that carries the sails on one end and an Archimedes' screw on the other, in this way avoiding the need for any gearing. The tjasker is commonly known as a typical Frisian windmill though it is also found in other Dutch provinces and in north Germany. (Full article...)
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Gudhjem Windmill, Bornholm
Gudhjem Windmill (Danish: Gudhjem Mølle) is located in the village of Gudhjem on the Danish island of Bornholm. With a sail span of 24 metres (79 ft), the Dutch mill is the largest windmill in Denmark. It served from 1893 to 1962 when it was taken out of commission. (Full article...)
Henvey Inlet, the largest wind farm in Ontario and the third largest in Canada This is a list of the ten largest operational wind farms in Canada. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm.
The installed electrical capacity and production of Sri Lanka by sources, from 2000 to 2018 Sri Lanka's electricity demand is currently met by nine thermal power stations, fifteen large hydroelectric power stations, and fifteen wind farms, with a smaller share from small hydro facilities and other renewables such as solar. Most hydroelectric and thermal/fossil fuel–based power stations in the country are owned and/or operated by the government via the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), while the renewable energy sector consists mostly of privately run plants operating on a power purchase agreement with the CEB.
Per CEB's 2016 generation report released in mid-2017, the country has a total combined installed generation capacity of 4,017 megawatts (MW), of which 2,115 MW (52.65%) was from thermal (900 MW/22.40% from coal and 1,215 MW/30.25% from fuel oil), 1,726 MW (42.97%) from hydroelectricity, and the remaining 176 MW (4.38%) from other renewable sources such as wind, biomass, and solar. These generation sources produced a total of 14,149 GWh of electricity during that year, of which 9,508 GWh (67.20%), 4,220 GWh (29.83%), and 421 GWh (2.98%) was from thermal, hydro, and other renewables, respectively. (Full article...)
The tower mill and adjoining granary is grade I listed building. The mill was built in 1819 for Isaac and Thomas Reckitt of Wainfleet. It was repaired and restored in 1988. (Full article...)
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North Steads Wind Farm from Druridge Bay This is a list of some onshore wind farms (more than one turbine) in the UK. This information is gathered from multiple Internet sources, primarily the UK Wind Energy Database from RenewableUK (formerly BWEA) and The Wind Power's database. There are many operational wind farms missing from the list, such as Scotland's 522 MW Clyde Wind Farm and the 68 MW Keadby Wind Farm in North Lincolnshire, England's largest onshore wind farm. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm and is usually related to the name of the physical location, e.g. hill, moor, fell, down etc. or the name of the agricultural farm for the smaller installations on property owned by farmers. The "wind farm" part is implied and hence removed for clarity in most cases. Listings here are restricted to wind farms with 12 turbines or more; for a more comprehensive list, please see the individual country articles. (Full article...)
Joseph Hall (1804-21 August 1871) and William Hoad purchased thirty hectares of farm land located on Metcalfe Road, Green Hill, at the original Crown sales in 1855. The following year they erected the windmill, using bluestone quarried on their property. (Full article...)
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The Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm As of 2013, there was an installed capacity of 2,599 megawatts (MW) of wind power in Romania, up from the 7 MW installed capacity in 2007. Until December 2010, Romania added around 440 MW to its installed wind capacity from two wind farms: Fântânele-Cogealac and the EDP Peștera. The Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm has been completed in 2012 and at the time was the largest in Europe.
Romania has a wind-power potential of around 14,000 MW, and an energy-generating capacity of 23 terawatt-hours. The country's wind power capacity that can be assimilated by the national transport grid is between 3,000 MW and 9,000 MW, while only in the last two years the total power of the requests for connecting to it was about 22.800 MW. The Dobrogea region, which consists of Constanța and Tulcea counties, has the second-highest wind potential in Europe. (Full article...)
By 2012, Iran had roughly 400 power plant units. By the end of 2013, it had a total installed electricity generation capacity of 70,000 MW, which had been increased from 90 MW in 1948, and 7024 MW in 1978. There are plans to add more than 5,000 MW of generation capacity annually to the power grid, which would almost double the total power generation capacity to 122,000 MW by 2022. The government of Iran planned to privatize 20 power plants by September 2010. Iran's peak demand for electricity was 45,693 MW during the summer of 2013.
It was predicted that Iran would account for 17.08% of MENA power generation by 2014. Natural gas was the major fuel used to generate electricity in Iran in 2009, accounting for an estimated 56.8% of primary energy demand (PED), followed by oil at 40.8% and hydro power at 1.4%. As of 2010, the average efficiency of power plants in Iran was 38 percent. The figure should reach 45 percent within five years and 50 percent under Vision 2025. (Full article...)
Smock mill with fantail (Sønderho, Fanø, Denmark) The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type of windmill got its name from its resemblance to smocks worn by farmers in an earlier period. (Full article...)
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Boyd's Windmill, also known as Boyd's Wind Grist Mill, is a historic smock mill at Paradise Valley Park on Prospect Avenue in Middletown, Rhode Island. John Peterson built the windmill at the corner of Mill Lane and West Main Rd. in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1810, and William Boyd purchased it in 1815. It originally had four common sails, but four more were added by the family. The mill is a timber-frame structure, octagonal in shape, and about 30 feet (9.1 m) tall, with a rotating cap powered by eight vanes with canvas sheets. The grindstones in the middle of the mill are Fall River granite; the upper one, which is connected to the power mechanisms, rotates six times for each turn of the mill's main shaft. In 1916 Benjamin Boyd removed the original vanes and powered the mill using a gasoline engine. It is one of only two historic windmills (out of what was estimated to be more than thirty) to survive on Aquidneck Island.
Boyd's Mill features prominently on the town seal of Middletown. (Full article...)
A replica 18th century Dutch windmill fabricated recently in the Netherlands and then assembled on the shore of Lake Imba near Sakura, Japan, named in honour of 'The Love' (De Liefde), the first Dutch sailing vessel to reach Japan in 1600. Wind rights are rights relating to windmills, wind turbines and wind power. Historically in Continental Europe wind rights were manorial rights and obligations relating to the operation and profitability of windmills. In modern times, as wind becomes a more important source of power, rights relating to wind turbines and windmills are sometimes referred to as "wind rights". (Full article...)
Image 20The Gansu Wind Farm in China is the largest wind farm in the world, with a target capacity of 20,000 MW by 2020. (from Wind farm)
Image 21A windmill in Wales, United Kingdom. 1815. (from Windmill)
Image 22The rotor of a gearless wind turbine being set. This particular turbine was prefabricated in Germany, before being shipped to the U.S. for assembly. (from Wind turbine)
Image 29Technical drawing of a 1793 Dutch smock mill for land drainage (from Windmill)
Image 30Kiosk at the base of the Lamma WindsNordex N50/800kW wind turbine on Lamma Island with displays showing current power output and cumulative energy produced. (from Wind turbines on public display)
Image 46The first automatically operated wind turbine, built in Cleveland in 1887 by Charles F. Brush. It was 60 feet (18 m) tall, weighed 4 tons (3.6 metric tonnes) and powered a 12 kW generator. (from Wind turbine)
Image 48Components of a horizontal-axis wind turbine (from Wind turbine)
Image 49The three primary types: VAWT Savonius, HAWT towered; VAWT Darrieus as they appear in operation (from Wind turbine)
Image 50Illustration of the wind turbine for power generation erected by Josef Friedlaender at the International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna in 1883 (from Wind turbine)
Image 64Offshore windfarms, including floating windfarms, provide a small but growing fraction of total windfarm power generation. Such power generation capacity must grow substantially to help meet the IEA's Net Zero by 2050 pathway to combat climate change. (from Wind farm)
Image 65Map of available wind power over the United States. Colour codes indicate wind power density class. (from Wind farm)
Image 67Inside view of a wind turbine tower, showing the tendon cables (from Wind turbine)
Image 68German physicist Albert Betz had a crucial role in the development of wind turbine technology. Betz's law states that no wind turbine can capture more than 59.3% of the wind's kinetic energy. (from Wind turbine)
Cross section of a post mill (from Windmill)
Part of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, Oregon, United States with a turbine under construction (from Wind farm)
Oilmill De Zoeker, paintmill De Kat and paltrok sawmill De Gekroonde Poelenburg at the Zaanse Schans (from Windmill)
Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen, Denmark (from Wind farm)
Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position (from Wind turbine)
Northern Iowa wind farm (from Wind farm)
A small Quietrevolution QR5 Gorlov type vertical axis wind turbine in Bristol, England. Measuring 3 m in diameter and 5 m high, it has a nameplate rating of 6.5 kW to the grid. (from Wind turbine)
The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Windmill)
Workers inspect wind turbine blades. (from Wind turbine)
Jhimpir Wind Farm, Pakistan (from Wind farm)
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Wind Turbine (from Wind turbines on public display)
Windpump in far western New South Wales, Australia (from Windmill)
The Pubnico Wind Farm taken from Beach Point, Lower East Pubnico, Nova Scotia (from Wind farm)
A vertical axis Twisted Savonius type turbine. (from Wind turbine)
The Gansu Wind Farm in China is the largest wind farm in the world, with a target capacity of 20,000 MW by 2020. (from Wind farm)
The rotor of a gearless wind turbine being set. This particular turbine was prefabricated in Germany, before being shipped to the U.S. for assembly. (from Wind turbine)
1813 technical drawing (from Windmill)
Gouda Wind Facility, South Africa (from Wind farm)
Technical drawing of a 1793 Dutch smock mill for land drainage (from Windmill)
Kiosk at the base of the Lamma Winds Nordex N50/800kW wind turbine on Lamma Island with displays showing current power output and cumulative energy produced. (from Wind turbines on public display)
Nashtifan wind turbines in Sistan, Iran (from Wind turbine)
Interior view, Pantigo windmill, East Hampton, New York Historic American Buildings Survey (from Windmill)
Thorntonbank Wind Farm, using 5 MW turbines REpower 5M in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium (from Wind turbine)
In the U.S. cats kill on the order of 10,000 times as many birds as wind turbines. (from Wind turbine)
An aerial view of Whitelee Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK and second-largest in Europe (from Wind farm)
Egbert Lievensz van der Poel, Windmill Fire (17th century), National Museum in Kraków (from Windmill)
De Valk windmill in mourning position following the death of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1962 (from Windmill)
Wind farm interference (in yellow circle) on radar map (from Wind farm)
The Nordex N50 wind turbine and visitor centre of Lamma Winds in Hong Kong, China (from Wind turbine)
The first automatically operated wind turbine, built in Cleveland in 1887 by Charles F. Brush. It was 60 feet (18 m) tall, weighed 4 tons (3.6 metric tonnes) and powered a 12 kW generator. (from Wind turbine)
San Gorgonio Pass wind farm, California (from Wind farm)
Components of a horizontal-axis wind turbine (from Wind turbine)
The three primary types: VAWT Savonius, HAWT towered; VAWT Darrieus as they appear in operation (from Wind turbine)
Illustration of the wind turbine for power generation erected by Josef Friedlaender at the International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna in 1883 (from Wind turbine)
Development in size and power of wind turbines, 1990–2016 (from Wind turbine)
Offshore Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) at Scroby Sands Wind Farm, England (from Wind turbine)
The Hancock County wind energy center in Iowa (from Wind turbines on public display)
Roscoe Wind Farm, an onshore wind farm, in West Texas (from Wind farm)
Wind turbines in the Bahrain World Trade Center (from Wind turbine)
Hooper's Mill, Margate, Kent, an eighteenth-century European horizontal windmill (from Windmill)
The Persian horizontal windmill, the first practical windmill. (from Windmill)
Nacelle of a wind turbine (from Wind turbine)
Map of available wind power over the United States. Colour codes indicate wind power density class. (from Wind farm)
James Blyth's electricity-generating wind turbine, photographed in 1891 (from Wind turbine)
Inside view of a wind turbine tower, showing the tendon cables (from Wind turbine)
German physicist Albert Betz had a crucial role in the development of wind turbine technology. Betz's law states that no wind turbine can capture more than 59.3% of the wind's kinetic energy. (from Wind turbine)
An isometric drawing of the machinery of the Beebe Windmill (from Windmill)
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