In the history of industrial development, the golden age of heavy machinery is long since past. We now live in the era of information technologies, where the rate of technological advance is extremely rapid. Though computer industry growth rates make the industries of the past seem obsolete, there is one modern machine industry whose growth rate over the past two decades have been comparable to that of the IT sector: wind power plants.
The rapid increase in size and capacity of commercially manufactured wind turbines between the years 1982 and 2006 is illustrated in Fig. 1-1. Fig. 1-2 charts the expansion of the installed capacity from wind turbines during the same period.
Fig 1-1 Size and power increases of commercially produced wind turbines over time
Within a very short time, a mature and reliable energy technology has been devel- oped. Both the growth rate of the installed capacity and the increase in turbine size have been remarkable. In 2010, for example, the largest commercial machines had a capacity of 7.5 MW and a diameter of 126 meters.
The examples below summarise the most important events in the recent history of wind energy development in key markets, (see also Fig 1-1 and Fig. 1-2), sec- tion 1.2 contains a more detailed discussion of wind market development.
1.1 Wind Energy in the year 2010 2
Fig 1-2 Wind energy utilisation, total installed capacity in MW [1, 2]
Denmark
The wind energy renaissance started in Denmark in 1980. Against the background of the oil crises in 1973 and 1978, small companies – mostly manufacturers of rural machinery and equipment – developed the first generation of wind turbines for commercial use. These wind turbines had rotor diameters of 10 to 15 meters, and generator capacities of 30 to 55 kW (see Fig. 1-1). The electricity not consumed by the turbine owner was fed directly into the grid. Changes in energy policy guaranteed that turbine owners would receive a fair and fixed price for excess electricity. This policy change created a market for renewable energy. By 2007, 25 % of the electricity consumed in Denmark was produced by wind turbines.
Since 2003 Denmark´s wind development has taken place primarily offshore.
Although Denmark led the world in cumulative installed wind capacity in the 1990s, Denmark now ranks only 10th behind market leaders such as China, United States, Germany, Spain and others.
The United States of America
The US wind energy boom in California began in 1980/81. The boom resulted in a total installed capacity of 1,600 MW by 1987. Californian wind farms employed large numbers of small turbines (35 to 75 kW) that were either manufactured in the US or imported from Denmark. As in Denmark, the extreme rise of oil prices in the 70s led the government to favour renewable energies, including solar, wind
and geothermal technologies. As a result, commercial solar-thermal power plants, with a total capacity of 350 MW were constructed in California. These positive trends were stopped, however, when the Democratic Governor of California, Jerry Brown, lost his majority to the Republicans in 1987. With the oil crisis subsiding, the new governor changed the energy laws to favour the cheapest offer. Fossil- fuelled power plants, with their large CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions, once again became the predominant power generation technology. By 2001, however, wind energy had begun to make a comeback in the US, and impressive 9,922 MW of new capacity was installed in 2009.
Germany
Germany did not experience rapid wind market growth until 1991. In that year, a federal law called the Electricity Feed Law (EFL) guaranteed both grid access and a fair, fixed-price to wind energy generators. During the next eight years, 3,000 MW of new capacity came online. By 1998, the coastal provinces of Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein supplied about 7 % of their electricity demand through wind power. Ten years later, this share had increased to 40 %. The Renewable Energy Law (REL), which came into force in April 2000, and replaced the EFL, encouraged the development of inland sites and laid the regulatory groundwork for offshore installations. Following this legislation, a record for new installations was set in 2002 with 3,247 MW. The market has cooled somewhat, with between 1,500 MW and 2,000 MW installed each year since 2002. There are high expecta- tions, however, for market growth offshore in the future. .
Spain
There has been a rapid increase in the number of wind turbines in Spain during the past few years. In 2010, yearly installations amounted to 1,516 MW. The total in- stalled capacity had increased to 20,676 MW. Spain is considered one of Europe’s fastest growing markets.
India
India has experienced a wind energy boom since 1993. Although few turbines had been installed by 1990, 200 MW had been installed by 1994. By 1998, this num- ber had increased to 1,000 MW, and by 2010, India’s installed capacity reached 13,065 MW. This development has been fuelled by India’s enormous electricity demand. Government and industry want to use wind farms to end the frequent industrial production stoppages caused by electricity shortages.