News & Articles on Wind Energy
This is an archive of articles and news on both large and small wind turbines, wind energy & the environment, and links to topics on the history of wind energy.
I’ve been working with wind energy since 1976 and my professional experience in the subject runs the gamut from wind resource assessment to installing and testing small wind turbines. I continue to follow the industry and analyze its growth and increasing contribution to renewable electricity generation worldwide.
For newcomers to wind energy I’ve added pages from my previous books explaining terms used in the industry.
- 200 Term Multilingual Lexicon: The lexicon translates English terms into five different languages: Dansk, Deutsch, Español, Français, and Italiano.
- Glossary of Wind Energy Terminology: The glossary was written by Paul Gipe and Bill Canter in the late-1990s. I’ve added the glossary to my web site for both its historical content—many of the terms were in use during the 1980s and 1990s—and as a reference for the thousands of newcomers to the wind industry since it was first published.
European Traditional Windmills & Windmill Liberation
By
Paul Gipe
While cleaning off my desk top, closing folders, and deleting files from our long project on the history of modern …
Nansen’s Arctic Expedition: One of the First Uses of Wind-Electric Generation
By
Paul Gipe
As part of our research into the history of wind turbines, Erik Möllerström and I came across the story of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his expedition on the Fram.
History of Conventional Wind Turbines Published—Finally
By
Paul Gipe
The first installment of an overview of the history of conventional wind turbines was published by Swedish academic Erik Möllerström and myself 15 August. Part 1 appears in Wind Engineering, an imprint of Sage Journals. The second part will appear later this year.
Wind Turbines on EVs and Why That’s a Bad Idea, But Solar Yes That’s a Winner
By
Paul Gipe
I recently got a query from an engineer about an inventor who thought it was a brilliant idea to put a wind turbine on an EV to charge it while it moves. The engineer was rightly suspicious and sent the idea on over to me, the wind world’s resident skeptic.
World’s first wind turbine with recyclable blades is up and spinning
By
Michelle Lewis
Siemens Gamesa’s first recyclable blades are spinning on a wind turbine at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in Germany. It’s the first commercial installation of recyclable wind turbine technology.
July 1887: James Blyth Harnesses the Wind for Electricity
By
Daniel Garisto
Nearly a century before anyone thought seriously about wind-powered electricity, a Scotsman named James Blyth built the world’s first wind turbine in his front yard. “When a good breeze was blowing, I stored as much in half a day as gave me light for four evenings,” he wrote.
