What Why Wind

What:

Wind turbines first emerged more than a century ago. Following the invention of the electric generator in the 1830s, engineers started attempting to harness wind energy to produce electricity. Wind power generation took place in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1887 and 1888, but modern wind power is considered to have been first developed in Denmark, where horizontal-axis wind turbines were built in 1891 and a 22.8-metre wind turbine began operation in 1897.

Wind is used to produce electricity using the kinetic energy created by air in motion. This is transformed into electrical energy using wind turbines or wind energy conversion systems. Wind first hits a turbine’s blades, causing them to rotate and turn the turbine connected to them. That changes the kinetic energy to rotational energy, by moving a shaft which is connected to a generator, and thereby producing electrical energy through electromagnetism.

The amount of power that can be harvested from wind depends on the size of the turbine and the length of its blades. The output is proportional to the dimensions of the rotor and to the cube of the wind speed. Theoretically, when wind speed doubles, wind power potential increases by a factor of eight.

Why:

Among all low-carbon technology options, accelerated deployment of wind power when coupled with deep electrification would contribute to more than one-quarter of the total emissions reductions needed (nearly 6.3 giga tonnes of carbon dioxide (Gt CO₂) annually) in 2050. Wind power, along with solar energy, would lead the way for the transformation with a possibility to generate 35% of total electricity needs. (Source: Irena).

Wind:

Wind power is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy technologies. Usage is on the rise worldwide, in part because costs are falling. Global installed wind-generation capacity onshore and offshore has increased by a factor of almost 75 in the past two decades, jumping from 7.5 gigawatts (GW) in 1997 to some 564 GW by 2018, according to IRENA’s latest data.

With an economic growth of 3.3.% in 2018 and 19, Ukraine is an interesting country to invest in, knowing that the most dynamic sector is the energy industry. The industry is undergoing modernization and transformation, benefiting from increased energy needs. The Ukrainian wind power industry should continue growing in the coming years as the country has set the official target of 25% of renewable energy share by 2035. Wind power plays a key role in the Ukrainian energy transformation. The country has a high climatic potential of wind power, which provides productive work not only of autonomous power units, but also of powerful wind power plants. The interest in exploring the most promising places for using wind energy is growing, based on its climatic potential and indicators of its possible utilization. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, about 40% of the areas are suitable for wind power generation. In the medium term, it is possible to develop about 5,000 MW of wind energy, that is, 20-30% of total electricity consumption in the country.

The Zophia Wind Farm is being built in the Zaporozhe region. We are very proud to be a part of the journey Ukraine has started on fulfilling their part of the Paris agreement. When ready, the Zophia Wind Farm will give electricity to 340 000 households.