Where is wind power found?

Wind energy is used all over the world, notably in the United States, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and India. In some countries, wind makes up a significant part of the electricity supply network. Denmark, for example, draws more than 20 per cent of its entire electricity supply from wind power, and some areas of Germany are over 50 per cent.

Wind power is the world’s fastest growing energy source. From 1990 to 2002, wind power capacity grew at an average rate of over 30 per cent. At the end of 2003, the world’s wind generating capacity exceeded 39,000 megawatts and produced about 90 billion kilowatt-hours. This is enough to supply about nine million North American homes. Industry analysts predict that global wind energy capacity could increase to 95,000 megawatts by 2008 and 194,000 megawatts by 2013.

Global use of wind power has increased rapidly since the oil crisis of the early 1970s, which boosted interest in large wind turbines and sparked government research programs to find alternatives to fossil fuel sources. At the same time, improvements in wind turbine design and technology have reduced the costs of wind power substantially, to less than seven cents per kilowatt-hour in U.S. dollars. Hydro-Quebec recently agreed to purchase 990 megawatts of wind energy for an average cost of Cdn 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the new Ontario Power Authority has agreed to purchase 990 megawatts of wind energy for an average cost of Cdn 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Prices for generating wind power are expected to drop even lower over the next decade.

In areas with very good wind resources, such as Canada, Texas and Great Britain, the pricing of wind power is becoming competitive with that for natural gas-fired and coal-fired electricity. Further improvements to turbine design and technology could make wind energy more competitive in areas with lower wind speeds and increase the amount of wind power generated worldwide.