World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

September 22, 2002 – Vol.7 No.26

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Here’s an tidbit from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA): The largest commercially available wind turbines today produce 250 times more electricity than those built 20 years ago.

The EWEA, celebrating its 20 birthday this month, also says that wind energy now meets the electricity needs of 35 million people from 25,000 megawatts installed by the end of last year. There are about 70,000 people working in the industry and more than 80 percent of turbines sold are built in Europe, which is also home to two-thirds of global wind capacity.

The EWEA has created a strategic plan - Wind Force 12 - under which wind energy could produce 12 percent of the world’s energy needs by 2020. Visit the EWEA at http://www.ewea.org/ .

Across the English Channel the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) is hosting its 24th annual conference October 2-4. Of particular interest among the many sessions on the conference schedule is one on related technologies such as ocean wave energy and a session on offshore wind which includes a discussion on the possibility of a hydrogen economy.

Eventually there could be a marriage of offshore wind power and ocean energy. Wavegen, an ocean energy company, already has a concept hybrid wind/wave generator. And there is (finally) growing recognition that hydrogen for a hydrogen economy must be derived from renewables to make a real dent in greenhouse gas emissions. Offshore wind could be used to generate the fuel of a hydrogen economy. Visit the BWEA at http://www.bwea.org/ , Wavegen at http://www.wavegen.co.uk/