15 interesting wind power facts
- Holland has historically been the leader in windmill technology.
- Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, wind mills for mechanical power, wind pumps for pumping water or drainage, or sails to propel ships.
- California is the leading wind power producer in the United States.
- On a commercial level, wind power electricity is produce in 30 states.
- At the end of 2009, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 157.9 gigawatts (GW), which is about 1.5% of worldwide electricity usage.
- As long as the Sun shines on the Earth, wind power will exist. Since the Sun is expected to shine for anther 4.5 billion years, wind power is considered a renewable power source.
- As of May 2009, eighty countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
- The first windmills were used to grind grain in Iran, then known as Persia.
- Man has used wind power ever since he learned to sail boats.
- Germany is the largest wind power producer in the world.
- Windmills were used by American colonists to move water, grind grain and cut wood.
- Windmills come in two types, vertical and horizontal.
- Wind power plants are typically owned by private companies, which sell the power to traditional utility companies.
- This yearly wind power production is enough to provide all the power needs of the City of Chicago.
- The United States gets roughly 17 billion kilowatts of electricity each year from wind power.
