The world at present is going through an energy crisis. While it is true that this phenomenon is more acute in the developing nations, the developed world is also not free from it.
The largest copper production in Chile is on the verge of being shelved due to acute power shortage. The country needs to increase its power production by 47 percent in the next eight years to keep abreast of the rise in demand.
Countries like Egypt and India also have gone through sever electricity crisis. This has been largely due to the huge gap between the demand and supply.
These incidences show that the power sector needs more investment for the production of electricity. Now coal, natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power are viewed as the main sources of energy. But the time has come to give thrust to alternative renewable sources of energy. In this connection, harnessing wind energy for the generation of electricity is of paramount importance.
The shortage of electricity has many different components like the escalation of demand, weather condition and distribution. But availability of the power is the primary concern.
Technologies to harness wind energy in a cost-effective manner have advanced to a great extent in the last decade. This had been made possible due to the tax credit by the Federal government. It also poses no hazard to the environment.
The wind projects can both be taken up on a small or big way. The small ones are good for the purpose of farming and homeowners. The big turbines installed off-shore are used for industrial and mass consumption like the supply of electricity to urban areas. It is estimated that by 2020 wind power sector would mitigate about 20% of the global electricity demand.