Europe Has the Wind Energy to Power the World

On windy days, Europe’s growing number of wind farms could run entire nations on clean energy. Researchers at the University of Sussex in the U.K. and Aarhus University in Denmark have developed techniques to map the total potential of onshore wind energy across the European continent. The research suggests that Europe could produce 100 times more energy than it currently does from onshore wind farms. The research team used digital wind atlases to provide finely detailed information on wind patterns across Europe. Armed with this data, they identified that 46% of the European landmass would be suitable for the installation of wind turbines, and that’s after excluding urban areas, military sites and other landscapes unsuitable for reaping the wind. The study estimates that more than 11 million additional wind turbines could, theoretically, be installed over almost 5 million square kilometres of suitable terrain. The report concludes that if this potential were fully exploited, Europe could provide the whole planet with all the energy it requires as far into the future as 2050.

Source : https://bit.ly/2lSjED8