European leads the world in production of wind power and Germany leads Europe. The 20,000 windmills that line the landscape generates 8% of Germany's electricity, power 10 million German homes and save an estimated 42 million tons of carbon dioxide. The northern state of Schleswig-Holstein's 2600 wind turbines fill one third of its electricity needs by utilizing just 1% of its land mass. Over 84,000 people nationwide have found employment within the wind industry. Germany plans to build an additional 30 offshore wind farms, with some 2,000 windmills in the North and Baltic Seas.
To the north-west, several European power companies are constructing the world's largest wind farm 12 miles off the British coast, near where the Thames flows into the North Sea. The ambitious $2.7 billion project will consist of 341 turbines occupying an area of 90 square miles. Together with the output from a second wind farm being built off the coast, the 440 turbines will power a third of London's three million households. And it's all renewable energy, resulting in a decrease of over two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
Further south, the world's fastest-growing producer of wind power is Spain. In March 2008, wind power produced an average of 28% of all electricity consumed nationwide and over 40% during peak moments. Portugal is building $1.3 billion worth of wind turbines around the country, enough to power 750,000 homes. Swedish power company Vattenhall is building northern Europe's biggest wind turbine park in the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Germany. Denmark already gets about 20% of its total power from wind energy, led by the existing largest wind energy installation in the world at Nysted. Here, 72 turbines generate enough power for 110,000 households.
Three fifths of the world's 74,000 megawatts of wind power are generated within Europe. Meanwhile, the US lags with only a third of Europe's wind power capacity. It is afflicted by an antiquated power grid conceived 100 years ago to share power across small regions, not nationally. It's difficult to move large amounts of power overlong distances, such as from the lightly populated plains states to the heavily populated coasts.
Extracts from: http://www.wavemagazine.net/econ/energy_efficiency.htm Date: 15-11-2008
To the north-west, several European power companies are constructing the world's largest wind farm 12 miles off the British coast, near where the Thames flows into the North Sea. The ambitious $2.7 billion project will consist of 341 turbines occupying an area of 90 square miles. Together with the output from a second wind farm being built off the coast, the 440 turbines will power a third of London's three million households. And it's all renewable energy, resulting in a decrease of over two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
Further south, the world's fastest-growing producer of wind power is Spain. In March 2008, wind power produced an average of 28% of all electricity consumed nationwide and over 40% during peak moments. Portugal is building $1.3 billion worth of wind turbines around the country, enough to power 750,000 homes. Swedish power company Vattenhall is building northern Europe's biggest wind turbine park in the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Germany. Denmark already gets about 20% of its total power from wind energy, led by the existing largest wind energy installation in the world at Nysted. Here, 72 turbines generate enough power for 110,000 households.
Three fifths of the world's 74,000 megawatts of wind power are generated within Europe. Meanwhile, the US lags with only a third of Europe's wind power capacity. It is afflicted by an antiquated power grid conceived 100 years ago to share power across small regions, not nationally. It's difficult to move large amounts of power overlong distances, such as from the lightly populated plains states to the heavily populated coasts.
Extracts from: http://www.wavemagazine.net/econ/energy_efficiency.htm Date: 15-11-2008
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