Wind Masterclass – Part 3

The Final Characteristics of Wind Power

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Wind Characteristics – Resource Availability, Adaptability, Safety, Security, Social Acceptance, Regulation, Policy Adherence

3. Concluding Remarks

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Bitesize Edition

Wind strengths and velocities vary around the world. Open plains, coastal regions, and mountainous areas can allow wind to build up to higher speeds. Considerations such as this can allow wind power to be a vital piece of the puzzle.

Alone, wind power struggles to adapt during periods of low wind, but even this is improving over time. There are risks of course, with wind turbines killing flying animals, but not as often as fossil fuel projects do. There are also security risks, especially if we’re heading towards smart grids and supply-side or demand-side management systems. Cyber attacks on energy infrastructure are attacks on our necessities, that could well be weaponised over the coming years in this period of rising geopolitical tension.

To limit this, we need a diversified energy production system. Thankfully, domestic policy is providing huge amounts of funding for this in a variety of developed countries. However, this transition will occur at different speeds for different countries. Those less developed states will take any baseload power they can access. It’s unlikely this hunt for reliable baseload power will see developing countries cast aside fossil fuels. The transition will be long and arduous. It seems that wind power will be an important piece of this puzzle. Let's explore why.

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Introduction

The final part of my wind masterclass is upon us. I’ll close my analysis of the characteristics of wind power by exploring resource availability, adaptability, safety, security, social acceptance, regulation, and policy adherence. For the previous two parts:

• Part 1: https://geopoliticsreport.substack.com/p/the-characteristics-of-wind-power

• Part 2: https://geopoliticsreport.substack.com/p/wind-masterclass-part-2