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 I’ve added the glossary to my web site for both its historical content—many of the terms were in use during the 1980s and 1990s—and as a reference for the thousands of newcomers to the wind industry since it was first published.
Screenshot from a YoutTube video of the DAF Indal turbine on the Iles de la Madeleine. The video was taken in 2016.

Abandoned DAF-Indal Darrieus Turbine on the Îles-de-la-Madeleine

By

Paul Gipe

Someone sent me a link to a YouTube video titled Abandoned Vertical Axis Windmill In The Magdalen Islands.

Usw 56 100 by bob tregilus 20171015 04 jpg

Rebuilt USW 56-100 in the Wild

By

Paul Gipe

Renewable energy and electric vehicle fan Bob Tregilus was out and about in rural Nevada when he came across an odd wind turbine powering a well pump in the Reese River Valley. So he sent along his photos of a rebuilt USW 56-100s in the wild.

It’s true, wind turbines are monstrous. But I have learned to love them

By

Alice O’keeffe

At first I resented the way they blocked the view. But now the towers look like part of a brighter future.

State Opens Investigation Into Blasting At Deerfield Wind Site

By

Howard Weiss-tisman

Permitting for the project dragged on for more than ten years and the 30-megawatt project is expected to go online in 2018. A contract worker died on the site in April after he was electrocuted.

In Iowa Wind Opponents Turn to Animal Cruelty

By

Peter Sinclair

Science deniers needlessly killing animals, in order to needlessly kill more animals. Appalled but not surprised. People who don’t care about the massive extinctions brought on by climate change certainly won’t stop at killing innocent animals to further the fossil fuel agenda.

Nashtifan Windmills The vertical-axis windmills of ancient Persia have been grinding flour for 1,000 years and counting

By

Elliott Carter

Located on the arid and windswept plains of northeastern Iran, 30 miles from the Afghan border, the small village of Nashtifan is keeping ancient traditions alive amid the winds of change. The town is home to some of the earliest windmills in the world, and the structures are still in use today.