Wind power to supersede all others

August 13, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

In an era of high energy costs, developments in wind technology have made wind energy among the most affordable and desirable forms of renewable energy. In fact, Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA) expects cumulative capacity of wind power to more than double by 2020.

Small wind turbines are being increasingly deployed for powering homes, offices and small businesses and GIA predicts offshore wind farms to outpace land-based wind turbine production by 2015.

Asia-Pacific represents the largest market, thanks to increasing electricity demand and rapid industrialization, according to GIA -- while Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Ireland and Spain represent other major countries in the world with high wind electricity penetration rates.

Wind will supersede other forms of alternative energy, GIA anticipates, because of benefits like zero pollution levels; no depletion of natural resources; inexpensive installation costs; a less than three-month gestation period; reduced dependence on fossil fuels; ubiquitous availability of wind; and low power cost.

In the short term, the market is expected to see wind power advancements, including high-altitude wind turbines; wood-based wind turbines; portable wind turbines; blade-free wind turbines; solar-powered wind turbines; algorithm-integrated small turbines; and advanced robotic inspection systems for examining wind turbine rotor blades that combine ultrasonics, thermography or high-resolution cameras.

For more:
- see this article

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/wind-power-supersede-all-others/2014-08-13