“Energy is neither created nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another” the famous quote by Albert Einstien describes the major concept of available energy in universe. The threat to scarce resources has increased significantly in past few decades due to increased demand for energy. The proven non renewable energy sources, such as oil are around 1200 million barrels, will be consumed in next 47 years. Similar statistics goes with natural gas. The shortage of nonrenewable resources and need to save the environment from pollution are the major reasons for increased inclination towards adoption of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Wind energy is essentially the energy that is harnessed from kinetic energy of the wind. The kinetic energy is then converted into mechanical (rotational energy) by means of blades, and then to electrical by generator. The major components of a wind firm include blades, pole, rotor, gearbox and generator.
The total installed capacity in 2017 was 539,581 mw according to a report by Global Wind Energy Council. The planning and setting up a wind firm is really the most tedious task, when offshore wind farm is concerned. An offshore farm is built in sea or other water bodies, so it incurs heavy cost. However, this cost is compensated as these farms produce energy throughout the year. The market for offshore firms has grown tremendously in Europe. The onshore wind firm lags behind due to its production efficiency problem and increases noise pollution. The efficiency of wind firms was major challenge faced by researchers as the focus was only confined to increase the nameplate capacity. The advancement of technology has shifted the focus towards capacity factor, which helps to keep the energy cost low by providing best possible power. The recent technological advancement, namely direct drive technology for improving the efficiency and reducing the weight is being implemented in offshore wind farms. The APAC region has grown tremendously with a total installed capacity of 233735 mw in 2017, followed by Europe, which has a total installed capacity of 178096 mw. North America has a total installed capacity of 105321, while Rest of the World has the least installed capacity of 4538 mw.
Wind energy has swept the energy crisis problem by covering a wide spectrum of the energy market. The need for energy will increase rapidly in the era of automation, with the sustainability of resources and conservation of environment being the biggest challenge. The past few decades has witnessed a major climatic shift due to pollution and global warming. These threats have tremendous potential to cause natural disasters in future. The awareness to conserve resources is being promoted effectively by government bodies, which has contributed in shifting the society towards utilization of environment friendly energy sources. The feasibility of wind energy is something that is needed to be worked on to make it more cost effective. The usage of such setup is confined only for commercial large scale production. Further, research and development to make it feasible for domestic use will further increase its adoption in remote areas. The future prospects of wind energy is much more vivid than what it is today. However, the advancement in technology of rotor, blades and more efficient generators will make it cost effective and efficient. The shift towards renewable resources is of utmost importance today to make the coming generation see the planet in green and blue.