Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And wind has long served as a power source to humans.
Ancient mariners used sails to capture the wind. Farmers once used windmills to grind their grains and pump water. Today, more and more wind turbines wring electricity from the breeze. Over the past decade, wind turbine use has increased more than 25 percent per year. Still, it only provides a small fraction of the world's energy.
How it Works
Most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a 20-story building and have three 200-foot (60-meter)-long blades. The wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity.
The biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity in a year (about 12 megawatt-hours) to supply about 600 U.S. homes. Wind farms have tens and sometimes hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots. Smaller turbines erected in a backyard can produce enough electricity for a single home or small business.
The Booming Wind Energy Industry
Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is erected. Mass production and technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments offer tax incentives to spur wind-energy development.
Drawbacks include complaints from locals that wind turbines are ugly and noisy. The slowly rotating blades can also kill birds and bats, but not nearly as many as cars, power lines, and high-rise buildings do. The wind is also variable: If it's not blowing, there's no electricity generated.
Nevertheless, the wind energy industry is booming. Thanks to global efforts to combat climate change, such as the Paris Agreement, renewable energy is seeing a boom in growth, with wind energy leading the way. From 2000 to 2015, cumulative wind capacity around the world increased from 17,000 megawatts to more than 430,000 megawatts. In 2015, China also surpassed the EU in the number of installed wind turbines and continues to lead installation efforts.
Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 one third of the world's electricity needs will be fulfilled by wind power.
