WIND ENERGY

Air in the motion is called wind. Wind is global phenomenon occurring on the earth’s surface due to unequal heating of various parts of the earth’s surface by the sun. Wind speed and direction vary in the short and long term. There is a variation in minute to minute. Wind is affected by the terrain and by height above the ground.

Wind speed generally increases with the height above the ground as moving wind moving across the earth’s surface encounters friction caused by the turbulent flow over and around the mountains, hills, trees, buildings etc.The power contained in the wind can be harnessed for mechanical application such as water pumping or for generation of electricity, through wind turbine generators, designed for specific purpose.

The state of Gujarat is blessed with a long coast line of 1600 km where the wind speeds are adequate for conversion in to electrical energy. Similarly certain inland hilly areas have potential wind speed for the same. In terms of power application, the state of Gujarat has a gross potential of 7362 MW of wind power generation.


For the purpose of mechanical applications where the wind speed required is much less than that required for the power application, the land area in open fields throughout the state, with no obstructions over a specified distance is sustainable for installations of windmills for mechanical applications.The increasing costs of the fossil fuels and thus the cost of the conventional electricity, has generated an increased interest in using the natural source for meeting the energy requirements.