Wind Climates and Annual Energy Production

Abstract

Like other renewable energy sources, wind energy is geographically abundant and virtually always accessible. Humans have used wind and windmills to harness a very little fraction of it for thousands of decades. Due to environmental concerns and the results of global warming brought on by the burning of oil and gas, these themes have become more prevalent in recent years. Since the 1980s, when the first wind turbine in the nation was built and connected to the grid, wind energy has grown to thousands of megawatts. However, many factors are affecting the annual wind energy productions such as the efficiency and number of employed turbines as well as the climate conditions. Windy climate is crucial for running the turbine and sustained harvesting of wind energy. The wind speed and continuity are playing important role in this regard. The scenario of decreasing in the earth׳s natural wind speeds as carbon dioxide concentrations rise and the earth׳s poles warm. This "stilling" might disrupt plant growth, wind energy output, and possibly the Gulf Stream, which controls a significant portion of the global temperature. There are several reported research in literature about these points of concern. In this chapter we aim to overview the proportions between wind climate and the wind energy production rates per year.