In recent correspondence with colleagues, I noted the unfortunate reoccurrence of the term “wind parks” to describe wind farms or … Read more
wind power plants
In American and British English “park” connotes recreational enclaves or sylvan settings publicly protected from development. Arrays or clusters of multiple wind turbines are more correctly described as wind power plants. During the 1970s utilities in North America envisioned building “energy parks” of multiple nuclear reactors. Propagandists for the utilities deliberately chose the term “parks” to mislead public debate. Continued use of the term “wind park” by the wind industry may be construed as a similar attempt to deceive the public.
What then is a wind power plant? Generally it is any cluster of wind turbines used for the bulk generation of electricity. A wind plants contrasts with a single wind turbine used to meet on-site needs that characterized wind energy before development began in California. Wind plants vary widely in size. In California, project size has grown with the industry. Today wind plants range from 40 to 400 turbines. In Europe, arrays are much smaller, averaging in the tens of machines.
