Wind Energy Technology and Environment Sustainability

Abstract

Wind power plays an important role in the development of country’s economy as it reduces country’s dependency on fossil fuels. Wind energy generally categorized as a clean, environmentally friendly, and renewable source of energy. India is blessed with an immense amount of renewable energy resources, and wind energy is one of the promising sources for energy supply option. The demand of electricity has grown significantly in recent past years, and India depends widely in coal and oil to meet energy demands. In recent past years, there has been intense research activities carried out in the development, production, and distribution of energy in India, which results in the development of the need for new sustainable energy due to limited fossil fuel resources and problem associated with the environment (smog, acid rain, and greenhouse gasses emission). Development and promotion of non-conventional sources of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, and bio-energy are also getting continuous attention. Wind energy is non-polluting source of energy, and its mature technology and comparatively low cost make it promising and primary non-conventional energy source in India. The gross wind power capacity in the country is estimated about 49,000 MW, and a capacity of 21,264 MW up to May 2014 has been added so far through wind. Continued research and development to increase the value of forecasting power performance, reducing the uncertainties related to engineering integrity, enabling large-scale use, and minimizing environmental impact are some of the areas needing concerted efforts in wind energy. These efforts are also expected to make wind power more reliable and cost competitive with conventional technologies in the future for an environmental sustainability.