Wind Power Installed Capacity

For a given wind power installed, the sizing of the electrolyzer is not trivial. In the case of "stand-alone" systems, a one-to-one approach is often proposed, with the electrolyzer power input being equal to the nominal power output of the wind turbine. In this way, the electrolyzer should be able to retrieve all the wind power in the absence of load. In grid-connected systems, the same approach leads to the choice of an electrolyzer with a power supply equal to the power output of the wind turbine minus a "base load." However, the specific capital cost of the electrolyzer being almost equal to the cost of a wind turbine, it is important to take into account the capacity factor of the electrolyzer that will always be smaller than that of the wind turbine. 

Since 1992, more commercial wind farms have been installed than ever before with 40,000 turbines in 40 countries. Wind energy capacity is growing at almost 30% annually. By 1998, it reached 10,000 megawatts (MW), which can supply a country the size of Denmark and the wind power industry had sales of 2 billion with 35,000 jobs worldwide. The prime movers were an increasing environmental awareness and commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions made under the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. 

Wind can be used in Georgia by modem turbines to generate electricity. The technical potential of wind energy in the country is estimated at 530 MW, with an annual generation up to 1.5 TWh. On a short-to-medium term prospective the economic potential of wind power is 500 GWh with an installed capacity of 180 MW [31]. 

The greatest concentration of wind power in America is in Texas, where there were 4,356 installed megawatts of capacity as of the end of 2007, up from 2,768 at the end of 2006. California ranked second at 2,439. Wind turbine installation has been so brisk in the U.S. that foreign manufacturers have recently opened manufacturing plants in America. 

It is considered that installed capacity of wind power plant (WPP) that can be achieved as a part of centralized energy system of Ukraine may come up to 16,000 MW, and power generation may come up to 25-30 TWh/year. This figure is often accepted as a potential of wind power. The area necessary for the construction of such a WPP capacity is 2,500-3,000 km2 that is quite real taking into account shoal of the Azov Sea and the Black Sea. According to other estimations 7,000 km2 of Ukraine s territory can be used for the construction of WPP of 35,000 MW total capacity. 

Fair Isle is a relatively small island near the Shetland islands in the UK. The island s electrical and heat demand is provided by an existing autonomous power system comprising a diesel engine generating set and two wind turbines. Fair Isle is inhabited all year round and it is estimated that approximately 70 people live on the island. In more detail, the nominal capacity of the diesel generator is 35 kW, while the installed capacity of the wind turbines is 60 kW and 100 kW respectively (Glockner et al., 2004). 

Figure 5.77 shows the wind potential for Denmark, on land and inland seas. The off-shore potential has been estimated for a number of reserved locations, shown in Fig. 5.78. These have been selected as suitable for wind turbine parks without disturbing fishery activities, boat routes for passengers and freight, military exercise areas, etc. The total exploitable wind power is given in Fig. 5.78 for each reserved area. It by far exceeds the envisaged 2050 electricity use. In several of the areas, wind power production has already been initiated, albeit at a total level substantially lower than that of the 2050 scenario. The year 2003 installed capacity is about 3.3 GW.

The European Union supplies tax breaks and investment plans for renewable sources such as wind power. There are plans to install 40,000 megawatts by 2010. Denmark receives 10% of its power from wind energy with an installed capacity of 1,700-MW. Germany is not far behind and is the wind sector s fastest growing market. 

In India and China, wind power can provide broad areas of the rural population that are without electricity. Wind investment plans are being offered to these countries by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. India has almost 850-MW of installed capacity and is first among the de-... 

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