By Princeton Energy Resources International, LLC.

Recognition of the value of wind energy as a low cost, clean source for electricity is creating major new business opportunities for manufacturing and materials innovation. Worldwide growth in wind generation since 1994 has been 30 % or higher annually. The cost of energy from large wind power plants has declined to less than $0.05/kWh at good wind sites. By the end of 2000, the global capacity had passed 17,600 megawatts (MW) [See reference 1], and in the United States alone, more than 1,800 MW of new installations should be completed this year [2, 3]. The combined sales of large wind power plants and small turbines for distributed generation is now $4-5 billion annually worldwide and growing. Small turbines (less than 100 kW each) are being produced for the growing distributed generation and off-grid markets. Grid-connected wind power plants typically employ hundreds of 1 to 2 MW turbines today and larger, 3 to 5 MW machines, with 100-meter (m) (110 yards- longer than a football field) or greater rotors are being developed. The wind turbine manufacturing business has grown from a “cottage industry, ” with hand-built subsystems, to sales warranting large-scale production operations. Parts of a Wind Turbin