Wind Power

Wind turbine

Wind/Solar Electric Array SE of Tucson

Hub of two blade turbines (from NREL Presentation)

Nacelle Cover (from NREL Presentation)

Old and new in Altamont Pass, California - Courtesy, Dr. Martin J. Pasqualetti - more images here.

Wind Power Introduction

Like hydropower, wind power has been used for centuries, to lift water, propel boats, grind grain. It is an attractive and non-polluting source for electricity. It has only been since the mid 1980s, however, that wind power has contributed appreciably to our supply of electricity. The largest generating capacity in the world at present is in Germany, although Denmark is targeting wind as the source of half of its electricity in the near future, if public opposition to their visual intrusion can be overcome.

Some of the largest "wind farms" in the world area in California. One, that in San Gorgonio Pass, is about 100 miles west of Arizona, near Palm Springs, California, where about 4000 wind turbines convert wind power into electricity power. The other major installations in the US are similarly located in passes where the winds are concentrated. Without such concentration, the density of wind power is usually too low to generate electricity commercially.

Like many other states, Arizona has long used wind power to pump water on ranches. Nowadays, this is not a major use in Arizona. Indeed, few sites in Arizona are consistently windy enough for commercial development. Only northern Arizona (for example, near Winslow) might be commercially attractive. As yet, no projects of this sort are yet in place.

Wind Energy: State of the Art and Future Trends - NREL presentation

View this NREL presentation in on of the following formats:

• Web format (optimized for Internet Explorer)
• PowerPoint presentation (5.6MB)
• PDF File (1.4 MB)

Learn about:

• Recent History
• Wind Turbines Today
• Economics and Wind Energy Development
• Future Trends

Wind Resource Maps (AZ and United States)

Wind energy becomes cheaper than conventional energy (AP, 10/17/2005)

The Denver Post - Customers of Xcel Energy's Windsource wind energy program soon will have more to brag about than their environmental ethic. Namely, lower bills. Click here for full news story.

APS Wind Integration Study (September 2007)

The final report of the APS Wind Integration Cost Impact Study was produced by Northern Arizona University (NAU), with contributions from EnerNex Corporation, 3TIER, and Arizona Public Service Company (APS). The report is a result of an eight month study to characterize the impacts and costs due to the variability and uncertainty of wind energy associated with integrating wind energy into APS’ utility resources and practices.

• View full report here
• View executive summary here

Want more information on wind power?

• Visit our collection of wind power-related images
• Visit our Wind Energy links page
• Visit the American Wind Energy Association's Website