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 I’ve added the glossary to my web site for both its historical content—many of the terms were in use during the 1980s and 1990s—and as a reference for the thousands of newcomers to the wind industry since it was first published.
‘Renewable Energy’: An Exhibition–Tracking the evolution of wind and water power, from yesterday to today and tomorrow
By
External Source
This exhibition focuses on the renewable resources of wind and waterpower. It charts a trajectory from the technologies used in …
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
By
External Source
The wind turbines visible from Donald Trump’s Turnberry and Menie golf courses have long enraged the president. At a press conference at his Ayrshire resort announcing a trade deal with the EU this weekend, Trump launched into an unprompted tirade against windfarms, instructing European countries to get rid of theirs. He was visiting Turnberry for the first time since the nearby onshore Kirk Hill windfarm began producing energy from eight turbines. But were his comments about wind power correct?
Film of Rotor Ship Buckau Sailing into the Firth of Forth in 1925
By
Paul Gipe
Anton Flettner’s rotor ship Buckau sailed across the North Sea in 1925 using two Flettner Rotors for propulsion. The event …
Films and Videos of Historic Wind Turbines from 1925 to the Present
By
Paul Gipe
I’ve uploaded a series of films on historic wind turbines in operation to the Internet Archive. To help me keep track of them, I’ve posted the links and a short summary here. I’ve included some films in this list that are on YouTube.com as the provenance isn’t clear. Of course videos of operating wind turbines are quite common now, so I am limiting this list to those of historic interest.
Text of “Motion Picture History of the Erection and Operation of the Smith-Putnam Wind Generator” by Carl Wilcox
By
Paul Gipe
The following was a question and answer session with Carl Wilcox during the 1973 Wind Energy Conversion Systems Workshop in Washington, DC.[1] Wilcox had been a member of the Smith-Putnam team.[2] Beauchamp Smith of the S. Morgan Smith Company also attended the conference and gave a presentation just before Mr Wilcox. The “COMMENT” below was likely by him as he addressed Mr. Wilcox as “Carl.”[3] There were other luminaries at this conference, including Ulrich Hütter,[4] Jean-Marc Noël,[5] and William (Bill) Heronemus.[6]
Schachle Wind Turbine 1977 & the Heights of Hype
By
Paul Gipe
The annals of wind energy are filled with examples of arrogance, hubris, and hype about products that failed to deliver on their promoter’s promise. One long forgotten example is the Schachle wind turbine. However, unlike the Internet wonders that bedevil us today, the Schachle wind turbine was a real piece of hardware not merely electrons floating in the ether.
