Wind Power Could Produce Electricity to Meet Global Energy Needs -Stanford

Wind Power Could Generate More Than Enough Sustainable Electricity to Meet Global Energy Needs:


Stanford University researchers have produced a new study and corresponding map that pinpoints where the world's winds are fast enough to produce power.

After analyzing more than 8,000 wind-speed measurements to identify the world's wind-power potential for the first time, Cristina Archer, a former postdoctoral fellow, and Mark Z. Jacobson, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, suggest that wind captured at specific locations, if even partially harnessed, can generate more than enough power to satisfy the world's energy demands.

The authors found that the locations with sustainable Class 3 winds could produce approximately 72 terawatts. A terawatt is 1 trillion watts, the power generated by more than 500 nuclear reactors or thousands of coal-burning plants. Capturing even a fraction of those 72 terawatts could provide the 1.6 to 1.8 terawatts that made up the world's electricity usage in 2000. Converting as little as 20 percent of potential wind energy to electricity could satisfy the entirety of the world's energy demands. The study, supported by NASA and Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project, may assist in locating wind farms in regions known for strong and consistent breezes.

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"The main implication of this study is that wind, for low-cost wind energy, is more widely available than was previously recognized," said Archer, now a researcher at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
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