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 2,304 TWh of electricity, which was 7.8% of world electricity. With about 100 GW added during 2021, mostly in China and the United States, global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW. 32 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind power in 2023 and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015. 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...)
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Wind power became a significant energy source within South Australia over the first two decades of the 21st century. In 2015, there was an installed capacity of 1,475 MW, which accounted for 34% of electricity production in the state. This accounted for 35% of Australia's installed wind power capacity. In 2021, there was an installed capacity of 2052.95 MW, which accounted for 42.1% of the electricity production in the state in 2020.
The development of wind power capacity in South Australia has been encouraged by a number of factors. These include the Australian Government's Renewable Energy Target, which require electricity retailers to source a proportion of energy from renewable sources, incentives from the South Australian Government including a supportive regulatory regime and a payroll tax rebate scheme for large scale renewable energy developments. Also the state's proximity to the Roaring forties means there are high quality wind resources for wind farms to exploit. In mid-2009, RenewablesSA was established by the South Australian Government to encourage further investment in renewable energy in the state. (Full article...)
General windmill articles
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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...) -
This article lists all power stations in Uruguay. (Full article...)
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Elphin Windmill is a fully restored 18th-century tower mill in Elphin, County Roscommon, viewed as a rare piece of Irish industrial architectural heritage, and possibly the oldest operational windmill in Ireland. (Full article...) -
The following page lists some power stations in mainland China divided by energy source and location. (Full article...)
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Myreagre Mølle, Bornholm
Myreagre Mølle (Myreagre Windmill) is a whitewashed tower mill located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of Aakirkeby on the Danish island of Bornholm. Built in 1865, it remained in service until 1970. (Full article...) -
The Scherpenberg mill, located in Westmalle, Belgium, is a tower mill that was built in 1843 to grind grain into flour. It is currently owned and operated by the municipal authorities of Malle, who only operate it temporarily. (Full article...) -
Pedersker Kirkemølle, Bornholm
Pedersker Kirkemølle is a Dutch windmill located in the little village of Pedersker on the Danish island of Bornholm. It functioned until 1969. (Full article...) -
The Wendhausen Windmill (German: Windmühle Wendhausen) is a tower mill located in Wendhausen, a town within the municipality of Lehre, Lower Saxony, Germany. Built in 1837, it is the only five-sailed windmill in Germany still in operation. (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...) -
Four offshore wind farms are in the Thames Estuary area: Kentish Flats, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet and London Array. The latter was largest in the world.
This article lists the largest offshore wind farms that are currently operational rated by nameplate capacity. It also lists the largest offshore wind farms currently under construction, the largest proposed offshore wind farms, and offshore wind farms with notability other than size.
As of 2022, Hornsea 2 in the United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 1,386 MW. (Full article...) -
Amogdoul Wind Farm, Essaouira
As of 2020, Morocco had an installed wind power capacity of 1400 MW.
As of 2013, there was an installed capacity of 947 MW and 500 MW are under construction. (Full article...) -
There are 19 operational wind farms in Latvia with capacity above 0.25 MW and 18 wind farms with capacity below 0.25 MW. (Full article...)
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Davidson Windmill is a historic windmill in Lakeside, Wisconsin, United States. The windmill was built in 1900 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The grist mill was built by Jacob Davidson in 1904 and operated until 1926. (Full article...) -
Danish Smock mill from 1895 at Sønderho, Fanø, with fantail
A fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and was perfected on mills around Leeds and Hull towards the end of the 18th century. Fantails are found on all types of traditional windmills and are especially useful where changes in wind direction are frequent. They are more common in England, Denmark and Germany than in other parts of Europe, and are little-known on windmills elsewhere except where English millwrighting traditions were in evidence.
The rotating fantail turns the cap of the windmill via a system of gearing to a toothed rack around the top of the mill tower, or to wheels running on the ground in the case of a post mill. It does so until the fantail sails are oriented parallel to the wind, whereby the wind can no longer move them. When the fantail is oriented parallel to the wind, the main sails are in the optimal perpendicular orientation and produce maximum power. (Full article...) -
The Windmills of Corvo (Portuguese: Moinhos de vento do Corvo/Moinhos de vento da Ponta Negra) is a group of windmills located in the municipality of Vila do Corvo, island of Corvo, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. (Full article...) -
Henvey Inlet, the largest wind farm in Ontario and the third largest in Canada.
This is a list of operational wind farms in Canada with a capacity of at least 100 MW. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm.
The Centennial Wind Power Facility in Saskatchewan was the first wind farm in Canada to have a capacity of at least 100 MW upon completion in 2006. Since then numerous other wind farms have surpassed the 100 MW threshold, most often through the expansion of existing wind farms. All but two of Canada's provinces or territories are home to at least one wind farm, those without being Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. (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...) -
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...) -
Dobson's Mill is a tower windmill for grinding wheat and corn. It stands in the High Street in the town of Burgh le Marsh, near Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. The mill was, prior to damage by Storm Ciara on 9 February 2020, open to the public as a tourist attraction and is a Grade I listed building. The mill site also houses the Burgh-le-Marsh Heritage Centre.
The windmill was built and fitted out by Sam Oxley, an Alford millwright, in the early 1800s for the Jessop family, who baked bread on the same site. It was completed by 1844. Dobson was the name of the last miller. (Full article...) -
The most important power stations in Turkey are listed here. Turkey generates about 300 TWh of electricity per year. (Full article...)
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This is a list of offshore wind farms in Japan. Japan intends to announce winners of a second contract round for 1.8 GW of capacity in March 2024. (Full article...)
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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...) -
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...) -
Mostert's Mill (Afrikaans: Mostert se Meul) is a historic windmill in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa. It was built in 1796 and is the oldest surviving complete windmill in South Africa. It was almost completely destroyed by a wildfire on 18 April 2021 but was fully restored by April 2024 and is once more operational and used to grind wheat into whole meal, using the power of the wind. The oldest windmill in South Africa is the De Nieuwe Molen mill in Cape Town, built in 1782. (Full article...)
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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.
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The Persian horizontal windmill, the first practical windmill. (from Windmill) -
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Thorntonbank Wind Farm, using 5 MW turbines REpower 5M in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium (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) -
Workers inspect wind turbine blades. (from Wind turbine) -
An isometric drawing of the machinery of the Beebe Windmill (from Windmill) -
The Hancock County wind energy center in Iowa (from Wind turbines on public display) -
Illustration of the wind turbine for power generation erected by Josef Friedlaender at the International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna in 1883 (from Wind turbine) -
Nashtifan wind turbines in Sistan, Iran (from Wind turbine) -
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Map of available wind power over the United States. Colour codes indicate wind power density class. (from Wind farm) -
Inside view of a wind turbine tower, showing the tendon cables (from Wind turbine) -
Technical drawing of a 1793 Dutch smock mill for land drainage (from Windmill) -
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) -
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) -
Part of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, Oregon, United States with a turbine under construction (from Wind farm) -
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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) -
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The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Windmill) -
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Cross section of a post mill (from Windmill) -
San Gorgonio Pass wind farm, California (from Wind farm) -
Development in size and power of wind turbines, 1990–2016 (from Wind turbine) -
Jhimpir Wind Farm, Pakistan (from Wind farm) -
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De Valk windmill in mourning position following the death of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1962 (from Windmill) -
Offshore Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) at Scroby Sands Wind Farm, England (from Wind turbine) -
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Wind farm interference (in yellow circle) on radar map (from Wind farm) -
James Blyth's electricity-generating wind turbine, photographed in 1891 (from Wind turbine) -
Interior view, Pantigo windmill, East Hampton, New York Historic American Buildings Survey (from Windmill) -
Egbert Livensz van der Poel, Windmill Fire (17th century), National Museum in Kraków (from Windmill) -
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Gouda Wind Facility, South Africa (from Wind farm) -
The Pubnico Wind Farm taken from Beach Point, Lower East Pubnico, Nova Scotia (from Wind farm) -
A vertical axis Twisted Savonius type turbine. (from Wind turbine) -
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1813 technical drawing (from Windmill) -
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Northern Iowa wind farm (from Wind farm) -
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The three primary types: VAWT Savonius, HAWT towered; VAWT Darrieus as they appear in operation (from Wind turbine) -
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Hooper's Mill, Margate, Kent, an eighteenth-century European horizontal windmill (from Windmill) -
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South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Wind Turbine (from Wind turbines on public display) -
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Nacelle of a wind turbine (from Wind turbine) -
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Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen, Denmark. (from Wind farm) -
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The Nordex N50 wind turbine and visitor centre of Lamma Winds in Hong Kong, China (from Wind turbine) -
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Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position (from Wind turbine) -
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Roscoe Wind Farm, an onshore wind farm, in West Texas (from Wind farm) -
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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) -
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Oilmill De Zoeker, paintmill De Kat and paltrok sawmill De Gekroonde Poelenburg at the Zaanse Schans (from Windmill) -
Components of a horizontal-axis wind turbine (from Wind turbine) -
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An aerial view of Whitelee Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK and second-largest in Europe (from Wind farm)
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Subcategories
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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?
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