According to the Danish National Association of Local Councils (KL), Denmark is set to get a substantial increase in wind power over the coming years. KL has designated a large amount of land throughout the country where between 400 and 450 wind turbines will be erected over the next two years. Read the full story

Denmark’s parliament recently approved plans to build the nation’s largest offshore wind farm, which will be located in the North Sea’s Kattegat Strait between Jutland and Anholt Island. The wind farm is expected to be operational by 2012, and will be able to produce 400 megawatts of power. The Climate and Energy Ministry claims this amount of energy will provide the electricity needs for 400,000 homes a year.

Between 100 and 175 wind turbines will stand in the Kattegat Strait. Denmark currently has 5,267 wind turbines, 70 percent of which are situated in Jutland, according to statistics from the Wind Industry Association. In 2006, Denmark’s offshore wind farms provided 22 percent of the nation’s total wind energy production.

Jakob Lau Holst, the director of the Danish Wind Industry Association (DWIA), said the new offshore wind farm will further the country’s aim of reaching the European Commission’s goal to produce Read the full story

Plans are in the works to construct a huge offshore wind farm outside the Finnish city of Oulu. Finland’s second-largest power company, Pohjolan Voima, and Oulun Energia, a utility company owned by the city of Oulu, want to install up to 162 turbines in the Gulf of Bothnia.

This would generate between 500 and 800 megawatts of power, generating enough energy for more than 120,000 homes. Costs for the wind farm project may reach EUR 1.6 billion, but Finland, which lacks the fuel reserves of Norway and the hydropower potential of Sweden, is desperately seeking alternative forms of energy.

Power company Pohjolan Voima already has five smaller wind farms up and running in Finland, with a new larger wind farm on the way near Kemi. The power generation capacity from its existing wind farms is 14.3 megawatts so the planned offshore wind farm near Oulu would bring a major increase in energy production.

The project must first be approved by regional authorities before construction can begin. The closest windmills to the city of Oulu would be 15 km away so the company expects little resistance. WPD AG, a German company that develops wind generation sites, already has two applications under review for projects in Finland.

By: Azfar A. Khan (Mr.)

Due to astronomical rises in oil prices in the international market, the cost of production of electricity is also rising day by day. Hence, it’s imperative to adopt some other methods for the production of electricity. This article dwells on the generation of electricity through wind and focuses on manufacturing of wind turbines, the machines used for the generation of electricity.

Generation of electricity through wind is not something new. India, the fourth in line of countries in the world for the generation of electricity, is producing more than 8000 MW of electricity by utilising wind turbines. One would be surprised to know that in the region of Nevarra, Spain, 70 per cent of the region’s energy needs are being fulfilled by wind and solar energy. This region is both windy and sunny. With no deposits of coal, oil or gas of its own, this region deliberately opted for renewable energy in the late 1980s. With some 1,100 windmills installed all over Nevarra, this region can boast of generating more electricity from renewable sources than entire big EU countries like France or Poland. It’s a classic example of using renewable energy in any country.

The question that automatically comes to one’s mind is: “If it can be done in Spain, why can’t it be done in any other country?” The answer is a big “It can”!

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