The green future of our planet lies in wind power. This is according to the report compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a company specializing in providing services concerning the clean energy sector.
The study, conducted in collaboration with the Global Wind Energy Council, showed a steady growth in wind-derived energy, and this development seems indeed destined to know no end.
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Wind power, the estimates coverage by 2030
Estimates, in fact, say that by 2030 wind will be the main source of the world’s electricity production, going to account for about 30 percent of it. If one takes into account the fact that renewables will go on to cover 70 percent of energy supplies, one can see how wind power is set to play a leading role on the world stage.
After all, the data speak for themselves. In the past two decades, installed wind power plants have grown by as much as 50 times. It started from 6,100 megawatts in 1996 to 318,137 megawatts in 2013.
In the United States alone, there has been a tripling of domestic wind installations. Consider, in this regard, the $1 billion investment in Iowa to plant a new set of wind turbines.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a national association of the U.S. wind industry, has emphasized how crucial wind has been to America, having provided the right amount of electricity supply despite rising prices due to the recent polar vortex.
Without it, the country would probably have encountered several problems, resulting in inconvenience to the entire population. This was the clearest demonstration of the value of this renewable within the national energy situation.
Wind power, the reasons of the exponential growth
But what are the reasons for this exponential growth? Again according to AWEA, a wind power plant significantly reduces electricity consumption costs, and does not need water to operate.
This is a factor that is not negligible in areas affected by long periods of drought, and does not produce harmful gases. In this regard, it should be mentioned, that to date U.S. wind power has avoided releasing about 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In addition, according to the 2013 Global Status Report on the green sector, wind energy accounted for 45 percent of new electric capacity in the United States, surpassing gas for the first time. Thus, wind met the needs of 15.2 million homes.
By virtue of this, increasing wind’s share is the fastest, cheapest and largest-scale way to solve the carbon pollution problem caused by power plants.
The global situation of wind power installation
The United Kingdom also experienced record wind power production last December, probably aided by the weather conditions of the period. This was reported by RenewableUK, a nonprofit association dedicated to increasing and spreading the use of renewables in the nation.
According to the data it provided, the amount of wind energy produced and the power output reached record levels. Not surprisingly, the number of systems installed has grown significantly.
There were 2.8 million megawatts of electricity that arrived to the national grid thanks to wind turbines. That is enough to cover the needs of 5.7 million homes.
In the current year, however, there could be a drop of about 5 percent in global demand for wind turbines. This would, in fact, be the first since 2004. But, if so, this would only be a temporary situation. In fact, Bloomberg assures that lower plant production costs, the opening of new markets and the growth of the offshore sector will enable wind to maintain and strengthen its leadership.
Read also: European renewables at unprecedented levels: soon to be the first source of energy
