How Climate Change Impacts the Wind Power Industry

As global demand for electricity rises and the climate crisis worsens, wind energy is emerging as an essential source of clean energy generation. But in order to make this technology more reliable, experts must be familiar with wind patterns, and how climate change is affecting them. 

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New wind measurement technologies have helped map wind turbine placement and forecast storms that affect power generation. However, rising global temperatures are increasing wind speeds and leading to more intense storms, introducing new problems to the wind power industry. 

Changes in wind speed impact wind power efficiency and the technology that supports it, making wind an important variable in future wind power considerations and turbine designs. 

Wind Energy

Wind energy is a proven way to harness natural power for electricity generation, having been used since the 600s to perform tasks such as grinding grain. 

Wind energy nowadays comes from huge wind turbines that are sometimes as tall as the Statue of Liberty and have three 200-foot (60-metre)-long blades. When these spin with the force of the wind, they turn a shaft that is connected to a generator, producing electricity. 

Wind is a clean source of energy that generates no carbon emissions, is accessible globally, and cheap to implement. The cost of wind energy has been decreasing, making it a cost-effective energy source. Though wind farms may require large areas to effectively space out turbines, the land surrounding the bases of turbines can still be used for grazing livestock, hiking trails, and agriculture.

Urban planners are also increasingly looking at ways in which they can incorporate ​​wind energy into urban environments – a necessity considering that urban built environments have grown dramatically worldwide in the past few decades.

Thanks to research and improvements in technology, wind power is on the rise globally and on track to become one of the most widely-used renewable energy sources. 

Satellite technology detects wind trends in areas around the world, helping to predict storms and store long-term wind data. Using data stored and displayed by sites such as the Global Wind Atlas, companies determine where to set up new wind farms. 

However, as climate change impacts both wind speed and storm intensity, wind is becoming more difficult to predict. 

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How Is Wind Measured? 

Historically, wind has been measured using a tool known as an anemometer that resembles weather vanes that spin and measure wind speed based on the number of turns made in a given amount of time. Some anemometers are placed on buoys in the ocean to track ocean surface wind, which is important for shipping and navigation, while land…