Wind energy as an alternate energy with recent developmets

The Earth is unevenly heated by the sun resulting in the poles receiving less energy from the sun than the equator does. Also, the dry land heats up (and cools down) more quickly than the seas do. The differential heating drives a global atmospheric convection system reaching from the Earth's surface to the stratosphere which acts as a virtual ceiling. Most of the energy stored in these wind movements can be found at high altitudes where continuous wind speeds of over 160 km/h (100 mph) occur. Eventually, the wind energy is converted through friction into diffuse heat throughout the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. […]

The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources. An estimated 72 TW of wind power on the Earth potentially can be commercially viable, compared to about 15 TW average global power consumption from all sources in 2005. […].Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines.d the atmosphere. […]

Glimpses of Recent research activity on Wind power:

• Wind Power Explored Off California's Coast: Researchers have completed the first detailed study ever done to assess the potential for building wind farms offshore along the California coastline.[1]
• 'Anti-noise' Silences Wind Turbines: If wind turbines clatter and whistle too loudly, they are only permitted to operate under partial load to protect the local residents -- but this also means a lower electricity output. An active damping system cancels out the noise by producing counter-vibrations.[2]
• Wind-powered 'Ventomobile' Places First in Race: The solely wind-driven Ventomobile constructed by a team of students in aerospace engineering came in first at the Aeolus Race in the Dutch town of Den Helder last Friday. Racing the extremely stylish and lightweight three-wheeler, the vehicles of five European universities and research centres had difficulties to catch up.[3]
• Ecologists Allay Fears For Farmland Birds From Wind Turbines: Wind farms pose less of a threat to farmland birds than previously feared, new research has found. The study helps resolve a potentially major environmental conflict: how to meet renewable energy targets at the same time as reversing dramatic declines in biodiversity on European farmland.[4]
• Ocean Wind Power Maps Reveal Possible Wind Energy Sources: Efforts to harness the energy potential of Earth's ocean winds could soon gain an important new tool: global satellite maps from NASA. Scientists have been creating maps using nearly a decade of data from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite that reveal ocean areas where winds could produce wind energy. The new maps have many potential uses including planning the location of offshore wind farms to convert wind energy into electric energy.[5]
• Measuring The Wind To Optimize For Wind Energy: Wind energy is currently regarded as the most important source of renewable energy. The optimal operation of the newest generation of large wind turbines is possible through the reliable measurement of the wind inflow characteristics. Experience has shown that the accurate power generation estimation based on wind speed is a challenging task. For large new turbine models, conventional met mast wind speed measurements are not feasible based on cost and technical considerations.[6]
• Rock Port, Missouri, First 100 Percent Wind-powered Community In U.S: Rock Port Missouri, with a population of just over 1,300 residents, has announced that it is the first 100% wind powered community in the United States. Four wind turbines supply all the electricity for the small town. Rock Port's 100% wind power status is due to four wind turbines located on agricultural lands within the city limits of Rock Port (Atchison County). The city of Rock Port uses approximately 13 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. It is predicted that these four turbines will produce 16 million kilowatt hours each year.[7]
• Wind Powered Vehicle, Ventomobile, Ready To Race In The Netherlands: Students have constructed a vehicle that is solely powered by wind energy, the Ventomobile. It took them many months of intense construction work to reach this goal. First wind tunnel testing produced very promising results. The extremely stylish three-wheeler features a two-bladed rotor on top, with a diameter of two meters. The efficiency of this setup proved to be extremely good.[8]