Portal:Wind power
The Wind Power Portal
The Gansu Wind Farm in Gansu, China
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 with wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.
In 2022, wind supplied over 2000 TWh of electricity, which was over 7% of world electricity and about 2% of world energy. With about 100 GW added during 2021, mostly in China and the United States, global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW. 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...)
Selected article -
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of capacity installed. Offshore wind farms are also less controversial than those on land, as they have less impact on people and the landscape.
Unlike the typical use of the term "offshore" in the marine industry, offshore wind power includes inshore water areas such as lakes, fjords and sheltered coastal areas as well as deeper-water areas. Most offshore wind farms employ fixed-foundation wind turbines in relatively shallow water. Floating wind turbines for deeper waters are in an earlier phase of development and deployment. (Full article...)General windmill articles
-
This page is a list of power stations in Japan that are publicly or privately owned. (Full article...) -
Diagram showing an underdrift windmill
This glossary of mill machinery covers the major pieces of machinery to be found in windmills, watermills and horse mills. It does not cover machinery found in modern factories. (Full article...) -
The Old Mill (Shenton's Mill) is a restored tower mill located on Mill Point in South Perth, Western Australia. Today, restored to its original 1830s condition, it is one of Perth's best known historic landmarks and serves as a sightseeing attraction. (Full article...) -
Ta' Kola Windmill, Maltese: Il-Mitħna ta' Kola, is a windmill in the village of Xagħra, on the island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago. It was built in 1725 by the Fondazione Vilhena of Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena, and was rebuilt in the 1780s. It became a museum in 1992.
Like many other Maltese windmills, it has a round central tower surrounded by a number of rooms. The sails and milling machinery have been restored, as have the miller's living-quarters. The museum also contains a large collection of traditional tools, mostly for wood- and iron-working. (Full article...) -
Brill windmill, a 17th-century post mill in Buckinghamshire
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These are struts that steady the central post.
The body of the windmill can be turned around the central post to bring the sails into the wind. All post mills have an arm projecting from them on the side opposite the sails and reaching down to near ground level. With some, as at Saxtead Green, the arm carries a fantail to turn the mill automatically. With the others the arm serves to rotate the mill into the wind by hand. (Full article...) -
This is a list of operational, offshore wind farms in Denmark (within the national maritime boundaries). Denmark's wind power generation is the highest in the world as a fraction of domestic consumption, reaching 47% in 2019.
Data is primarily from the 4C Offshore's Global Offshore Wind Farm Map and Database. Tariff data is supplied by the Danish Energy Agency. The name of the Wind Farm is the name used by the Energy Company when referring to the Farm and is usually related to a shoal or the name of the nearest town on shore. The Wind Farm part is implied and hence omitted for ease of reading. (Full article...) -
Morgan Lewis Windmill
Morgan Lewis Windmill, St. Andrew, Barbados is the biggest and only fully functional sugar windmill in the Caribbean. The mill stopped operating in 1947. In 1962 the mill was given to the Barbados National Trust by its owner Egbert L. Bannister for preservation as a museum.
The site was listed in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. Restoration began by the Barbados National Trust during the following summer. In 1997, financial support was provided by American Express for emergency repairs. The mill was dismantled for restoration, and reopened in 1999. With all its original working parts having been preserved intact, the sails were able to turn again after the project was completed, and cane was ground again after more than half a century. (Full article...) -
-
Moulin de Craca is a windmill in Plouézec, Côtes-d'Armor, France. First working in 1844 it was restored from 1995. It is popular amongst both locals and tourists because of its location on top of a cliff overlooking Port Lazo.
Every August the Plouézec-Ballinamore twinning committee organises Noz Ar Vilin Fest Noz around the windmill. There is a selection of Breton and Irish music and dancing, as well as local cuisine and drinks. Amongst the specialities are Moules-Frites (Mussels and chips), Crêpes, Galettes, Breton cider, and Chouchen. (Full article...) -
Old Buckenham Windmill is a tower flour mill which stands in the village of Old Buckenham, Norfolk, England. It is a Grade II* listed building, notable for being the largest diameter windmill in the country.
The tower was built in 1818 of brick in five storeys and is 8 meters (26.5 feet) in diameter at the base. The cap was boat shaped and extended to the rear. At 7.3 meters (24 feet) in diameter, it was the largest known cap in the country, requiring five truck wheels and 17 centring wheels to carry the weight. Originally fitted with eight plain sails, it was converted to use four patent sails. There were five pairs of French stones on the second floor but milling at the mill ceased in 1926 and the stones were broken up. (Full article...) -
Diagram showing an underdrift windmill
This glossary of mill machinery covers the major pieces of machinery to be found in windmills, watermills and horse mills. It does not cover machinery found in modern factories. (Full article...) -
Maud Foster Windmill is a seven-storey, five sail windmill located by the Maud Foster Drain in Skirbeck, Boston, Lincolnshire, from which she is named. She is one of the largest operating windmills in England being 80 feet (24.38 m) tall to the cap ball.
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...) -
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. (Full article...)
-
This is a list of offshore wind farms within the national maritime boundaries of the United Kingdom.
In October 2023 the nameplate capacity of offshore wind farms in operation was approximately 14 GW, with a further 5 GW under construction. Contracts for difference for a further 9 GW have been awarded by the UK Government. (Full article...) -
Vinegar Hill Windmill or Templeshannon Windmill is a tower mill on Vinegar Hill, Enniscorthy, County Wexford. (Full article...) -
Aarsdale Windmill, Bornholm
Aarsdale Windmill (Danish: Aarsdale Mølle) is a smock windmill located on a hilltop on the southern fringe of Aarsdale, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Svaneke on the Danish island of Bornholm. Constructed in 1877, it is still in operational condition although it is no longer in regular use. (Full article...) -
Maan Wind Farm 80 MW
As of 2021, there are at least eight operational wind power plants at Ibrahimyah, Hofa, Maan Hussania & Tafila. The Ibrahimyah plant, located approximately 80 km north of Amman, consists of 4 wind turbines with capacity 0.08 MW for each. The Hofa plant, located approximately 92 km north of Amman, consists of 5 wind turbines with capacity 0.225 MW for each. The Tafila Wind Farm is located in Tafilah Governorate in southwest Jordan. In Maan there are two Wind Farms. Maan Wind Farm was inaugurated in 2016 in south Jordan with a capacity of 80 MW, and Rajef Wind Farm reached the commercial Operation Date by October 2018, with a capacity of 86 MW. The 89MW Fujeij wind farm developmed and owend by KEPCO reached commercial operation date in October 2019. The Abour Energy wind farm developed by AMEA and Xenel industries reached commercial operation date (COD) in July 2021. The Daehan Wind Farm, developed by a joint venture of DL Energy and KOSPO also reached COD in July 2021. (Full article...) -
North Steads Wind Farm from Druridge Bay
This is a list of some onshore wind farms (more than 1 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...) -
The following page lists some power stations in mainland China divided by energy source and location. (Full article...)
-
The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A windpump is a wind-driven device which is used for pumping water.
Windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. The use of wind pumps became widespread across the Muslim world and later spread to China and India. Windmills were later used extensively in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and the East Anglia area of Great Britain, from the late Middle Ages onwards, to drain land for agricultural or building purposes. (Full article...) -
Eskom Nation Grid Production By Source in April 2023
South Africa produced around 245,000 GWh of electricity in 2021. Most of this electricity is produced using coal and is consumed domestically. In 2022, 12,300 GWh were exported to Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and other countries participating in the Southern African Power Pool. In 2022, South Africa imported 10,800 GWh from the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Station in Mozambique via the 1,920 MW Cahora Bassa (HDVC) Power Transmission System.
Most power stations in South Africa are owned and operated by the state owned enterprise, Eskom. These plants account for 80% of all the electricity produced in South Africa and 45% 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...) -
As of 2016, there were over 160 operational wind farms in Lithuania, but the majority of them consisted of small farms generating less than 2 MW. (Full article...)
-
Alford Windmill is a five-sailed windmill in Alford, Lincolnshire and the only surviving windmill out of four. Though the windmill has been restored to working order, it no longer supplies flour for sale. (Full article...) -
The most important power stations in Turkey are listed here. Turkey generates about 300 TWh of electricity per year. (Full article...)
-
The following page lists all the power stations in Sweden. For traction power, see List of installations for 15 kV AC railway electrification in Sweden. (Full article...)
Topics
Wind power topics
Windmill topics
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, by tradition specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but in some parts of the English-speaking world, the term has also been extended to encompass windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications. The term wind engine is also sometimes used to describe such devices. (Full article...)
Examples of multi-sailed windmills
Examples of tower mills
- Aarsdale Windmill
- Blennerville Windmill
- Bourne Windmill, Oakdale, New York
- Elphin Windmill
- Greenhill Windmill
- Gudhjem Windmill
- Montefiore Windmill
- Morgan Lewis Windmill
- Mostert's Mill
- Moulin de Craca
- Myreagre Mølle
- Old Mill, Perth
- Pedersker Kirkemølle
- Scherpenberg mill
- Ta' Kola Windmill
- The Old Windmill, Brisbane
- Vinegar Hill Windmill
- Xarolla Windmill
General images
The following are images from various wind power-related articles on Wikipedia.
-
Offshore Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) at Scroby Sands Wind Farm, England (from Wind turbine) -
A vertical axis Twisted Savonius type turbine. (from Wind turbine) -
The three primary types: VAWT Savonius, HAWT towered; VAWT Darrieus as they appear in operation (from Wind turbine) -
-
-
-
Inside view of a wind turbine tower, showing the tendon cables (from Wind turbine) -
An isometric drawing of the machinery of the Beebe Windmill (from Windmill) -
1813 technical drawing (from Windmill) -
-
Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen, Denmark. (from Wind farm) -
-
The Persian horizontal windmill, the first practical windmill. (from Windmill) -
-
Oilmill De Zoeker, paintmill De Kat and paltrok sawmill De Gekroonde Poelenburg at the Zaanse Schans (from Windmill) -
Cross section of a post mill (from Windmill) -
-
Roscoe Wind Farm An onshore wind farm in West Texas (from Wind farm) -
-
Egbert Livensz van der Poel, Windmill Fire (17th century), National Museum in Kraków (from Windmill) -
-
Thorntonbank Wind Farm, using 5 MW turbines REpower 5M in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium (from Wind turbine) -
Nashtifan wind turbines in Sistan, Iran (from Wind turbine) -
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) -
Hooper's Mill, Margate, Kent, an eighteenth-century European horizontal windmill (from Windmill) -
San Gorgonio Pass wind farm, California (from Wind farm) -
Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position (from Wind turbine) -
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Wind Turbine (from Wind turbines on public display) -
-
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) -
-
Technical drawing of a 1793 Dutch smock mill for land drainage (from Windmill) -
-
-
Jhimpir Wind Farm, Pakistan (from Wind farm) -
-
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 Pubnico Wind Farm taken from Beach Point, Lower East Pubnico, Nova Scotia (from Wind farm) -
Components of a horizontal-axis wind turbine (from Wind turbine) -
-
Wind farm interference (in yellow circle) on radar map (from Wind farm) -
-
Illustration of the wind turbine for power generation erected by Josef Friedlaender at the International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna in 1883 (from Wind turbine) -
-
-
-
The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Windmill) -
-
Interior view, Pantigo windmill, East Hampton, New York Historic American Buildings Survey (from Windmill) -
De Valk windmill in mourning position following the death of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1962 (from Windmill) -
The Nordex N50 wind turbine and visitor centre of Lamma Winds in Hong Kong, China (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) -
Part of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, Oregon, United States with a turbine under construction (from Wind farm) -
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) -
-
-
Workers inspect wind turbine blades. (from Wind turbine) -
The Hancock County wind energy center in Iowa (from Wind turbines on public display) -
Development in size and power of wind turbines, 1990–2016 (from Wind turbine) -
-
Map of available wind power over the United States. Colour codes indicate wind power density class (from Wind farm) -
Nacelle of a wind turbine (from Wind turbine) -
-
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) -
Northern Iowa wind farm (from Wind farm) -
James Blyth's electricity-generating wind turbine, photographed in 1891 (from Wind turbine) -
-
Gouda Wind Facility, South Africa. (from Wind farm)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=small}
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Subcategories
- Select [►] to view subcategories
List articles
- List of onshore wind farms
- Lists of wind farms by country
- List of wind farms in Australia
- List of wind farms in Canada
- List of wind farms in China
- List of wind farms in Denmark
- List of wind farms in India
- List of wind farms in Iran
- List of wind farms in the Republic of Ireland
- List of wind farms in Japan
- List of wind farms in Jordan
- List of wind farms in Kosovo
- List of wind farms in Latvia
- List of wind farms in Lithuania
- List of wind farms in Morocco
- List of wind farms in the Philippines
- List of wind farms in Romania
- List of wind farms in South Africa
- List of wind farms in Sri Lanka
- List of wind farms in Sweden
- List of wind farms in Turkey
- List of wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of wind farms in the United States
- List of wind farms in Uruguay
- List of offshore wind farms
- List of offshore wind farms in China
- List of offshore wind farms in Denmark
- List of offshore wind farms in Germany
- List of offshore wind farms in Japan
- List of offshore wind farms in the Netherlands
- List of offshore wind farms in Sweden
- List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of offshore wind farms in the United States
Did you know...
- ... that wind power in Turkey is so profitable that companies pay the government for licences?
Need help?
Do you have a question about Wind power to which that you cannot find the answer?
Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
Related portals
WikiProjects
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Discover Wikipedia using portals
