The Europe Wind Energy Association is reporting that the amount of new power from wind turbines this year will be about the same as new power from natural gas plants, with wind possibly ranking as number one.
Wind power has been steadily catching up with natural gas, the current leader in power generating capacity in Europe. New wind power exceeded new gas power in 2008 and 2009, and the total installed capacity in the EU is now 85 GW. Comparatively, natural gas generated 119 GW in 2007 (the latest figures available).
Germany will have the largest increase in wind power capacity this year, followed by Britain, and 1 GW of new wind is coming from offshore sources (almost twice last year's addition of 580 MW).
Also notable is the ramping up of wind power in new EU member states like Bulgaria and Romania.
via Green Inc.
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Comments (15)
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written by Layla, June 14, 2010
I think there should be more of these, in Spain they are white but have subtle lighting to make them look pretty at night, like flowers dancing in the breeze. I look forward to Britain's increase as I have not seen a single one on my travels though the UK.
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written by Fred, June 14, 2010
I guess when you say "power" in the article, you mean "electricity" - yes? Because that bring two things to mind :
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1 - that the gas used to produce that 119GW of electricity is probably only a tiny fraction of the total gas used directly for home heating, and industrial processes, etc.; and
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2 - that the 119GW produced by this gas is also probably a very small fraction of the total electricity used in Europe, but produced by nuclear and other means.
What say you?
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1 - that the gas used to produce that 119GW of electricity is probably only a tiny fraction of the total gas used directly for home heating, and industrial processes, etc.; and
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2 - that the 119GW produced by this gas is also probably a very small fraction of the total electricity used in Europe, but produced by nuclear and other means.
What say you?
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written by strobe, June 15, 2010
This synopsis of the Green Inc article is mixing some of the figures to draw a conclusion that's not quite accurate.
Natural gas generation = 119 GW (actually generated)
Wind capacity = 85 GW (potential for generation; actual generation will be in the area of 30% of this)
The original article does not attempt to connect these two values with the same implication of near-parity.
Natural gas generation = 119 GW (actually generated)
Wind capacity = 85 GW (potential for generation; actual generation will be in the area of 30% of this)
The original article does not attempt to connect these two values with the same implication of near-parity.
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written by Garrett, June 15, 2010
My only concern over such technology is the impact it has on the environment it's put in. Haven't we all read about dead bats or birds that have been attracted to the frequencies the turbine blades produce? Is this an old myth that was started by BP (had to use them as an example, ha)?
http://www.greencollarenvironmentalist.com
http://www.greencollarenvironmentalist.com
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written by solargroupies, June 15, 2010
?, what is you point? Is it that the article is misleading and that dirty energy that creates CO2 and H2O is still more significant than wind, and that wind doesn't measure up to the "other means"?
If so, all the more reason to celebrate increased wind on-line.
If so, all the more reason to celebrate increased wind on-line.
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written by Ronald Brak, June 16, 2010
This year the amount of kilowatt-hours produced by wind energy in Europe will be about the same as those produced by gas. The amount of new wind capacity now being built is greater than the amount of gas capacity being built. The the total capacity of wind power in Europe is about 85 gigawatts while the capacity of gas is about 119 gigawatts. Because gas is expensive it is normally only used to meet peak demand and this results in wind producing about the same number of kilowatt-hours despite gas having greater total capacity.
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written by Carlos, June 16, 2010
What the heck is so special about wind power for heck's sake? Wind power is an intrusive technology that we will come to resent.
People will look back at this time in history and laugh at these machines.
How many innocent birds must be killed for the greedy needs of the fat, indolent, ignorant and lazy in this consumer society?
There is more than enough hot rock geothermal, nuclear options that supporters of wind generation systems really need to question whether their support is based on something other than science.
People will look back at this time in history and laugh at these machines.
How many innocent birds must be killed for the greedy needs of the fat, indolent, ignorant and lazy in this consumer society?
There is more than enough hot rock geothermal, nuclear options that supporters of wind generation systems really need to question whether their support is based on something other than science.
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written by Ronald Brak, June 17, 2010
Carlos, here in South Australia we have massive hot rock geothermal resources, but we still generate 20% of our electricity from wind. This is because, although we're working on it, we haven't been able to make hot rock geothermal cheaper than wind yet.
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written by strobe, June 21, 2010
Ronald, thanks for the reply.
If I go by the figures from Eurelectric sited in the original article (European Power Statistics - November 2009), for EU-27 in 2007 I'm seeing capacity of about 172 GW for natural gas, 55 GW for wind.
Of greater relevance, they're reporting production of about 765 TWh for gas, and about 100 TWh for wind. So I'm not reaching the same conclusion as you do. Thus my point: the ecogeek.org story is poorly edited.
If I go by the figures from Eurelectric sited in the original article (European Power Statistics - November 2009), for EU-27 in 2007 I'm seeing capacity of about 172 GW for natural gas, 55 GW for wind.
Of greater relevance, they're reporting production of about 765 TWh for gas, and about 100 TWh for wind. So I'm not reaching the same conclusion as you do. Thus my point: the ecogeek.org story is poorly edited.
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written by Ronald Brak, June 22, 2010
This article has some information on wind power in Europe:
[url=http://www.ewea.org/index.php?id=60&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1852&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=307a9dd1e6166d257bdc1fcdaf2e8594]http://www.ewea.org/index.php?id=60&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1852&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=307a9dd1e6166d257bdc1fcdaf2e8594
I would guess that wind capacity in Europe is currently around 80 gigawatts and will be over 85 gigawatts by year's end. This should be enough to produce about as many kilowatt-hours as gas does.
[url=http://www.ewea.org/index.php?id=60&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1852&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=307a9dd1e6166d257bdc1fcdaf2e8594]http://www.ewea.org/index.php?id=60&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1852&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=307a9dd1e6166d257bdc1fcdaf2e8594
I would guess that wind capacity in Europe is currently around 80 gigawatts and will be over 85 gigawatts by year's end. This should be enough to produce about as many kilowatt-hours as gas does.
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written by Derrick Gibson, June 24, 2010
Wind farms are an eyesore?
Compared to those pretty nat. gas plants and those gorgeous nuclear cooling towers?
Wind farms can be located so far offshore they can no longer be seen by residents and the benefit of the larger blades on turbines 5 MW and over, is that they turn slower - which means birds and bats can deftly maneuver around, above - past - them with no concerns.
Compared to those pretty nat. gas plants and those gorgeous nuclear cooling towers?
Wind farms can be located so far offshore they can no longer be seen by residents and the benefit of the larger blades on turbines 5 MW and over, is that they turn slower - which means birds and bats can deftly maneuver around, above - past - them with no concerns.
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