The Wind Power Portal
The Gansu Wind Farm in Gansu, China
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation. Today, wind power is generated almost completely using wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.
In 2025, wind supplied about 2,700 TWh of electricity, which was over 8% of world electricity. With about 100 GW added during 2021, mostly in China and the United States, global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW. 30 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind power in 2024 and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015. To help meet the Paris Agreement goals to limit climate change, analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The growing demand for renewable energy has resulted in global adoption and rapid expansion of wind turbine technology. Wind turbines are typically designed to reach a 20-year life, however, due to the complex loading and environment in which they operate wind turbines rarely operate to that age without significant repairs and extensive maintenance during that period. In order to improve the management of wind farms there is an increasing move towards preventative maintenance as opposed to scheduled and reactive maintenance to reduce downtime and lost production. This is achieved through the use of prognostic monitoring/management systems.
Typical Wind Turbine architecture consists of a variety of complex systems such as multi-stage planetary gear boxes, hydraulic systems and a variety of other electro-mechanical drives. Due to the scale of some mechanical systems and the remoteness of some sites, wind turbine repairs can be prohibitively expensive and difficult to co-ordinate, resulting in long periods of downtime and lost production. (Full article...)
General windmill articles
The Xarolla Windmill at Żurrieq, Malta is one of the windmills constructed by the Order of St. John in the villages and towns of Malta. It was built in the 18th century and is presently one of the most preserved windmills in Malta. The windmill is an agri-tourism attraction and is found in a complex of agricultural buildings such as a farmhouse, a chapel, catacombs and others. The windmill is also used as an art studio.
In 1674 Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner built five windmills around Malta, one of which was tax-Xarolla. Tax-Xarolla Windmill was built by Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena in 1724. Sometimes after 1998, this was restored to its original working order. It is now the only functioning windmill on the islands of Malta. This is a valuable witness of local culture and heritage; it still has parts of the original mechanisms and can still grind the wheat. In the year 2000, this building was passed over to be administered by the Żurrieq Local Council and is intended to serve also as a cultural centre. The sails were extensively damaged in a gale on 18 March 2022. (Full article...)
Mostert's Mill (Afrikaans: Mostert se Meul) is a historic windmill in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa. It was built in 1796 and is the oldest surviving complete windmill in South Africa. It was almost completely destroyed by a wildfire on 18 April 2021 but was fully restored by April 2024 and is once more operational and used to grind wheat into whole meal, using the power of the wind. The oldest windmill in South Africa is the De Nieuwe Molen mill in Cape Town, built in 1782. (Full article...)
The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A windpump or drainage mill is a wind-driven device which is used for pumping water.
Windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. The use of windpumps became widespread across the Muslim world and later spread to China and India. Windpumps were later used extensively in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and the East Anglia area of Great Britain, from the late Middle Ages onwards, to drain land for agricultural or building purposes. (Full article...)- This is a list of wind farms in Australia, with a generating capacity of more than 50 MW, which are operating, under construction, or for which planning approval has been received. (Full article...)
Aerial view of Windpark Krammer
As of January 2025[update], wind power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of 11,714 MW, 40.5% of which is offshore. In 2022, the wind turbines provided the country with 18.37% of its electricity demand during the year. Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills.
In March 2022, the Dutch government announced that by 2030 offshore wind was to become the Netherlands' biggest power source, aiming at 21 GW of installed capacity. (Full article...)- Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different forms, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. (Full article...)
- This is a list of operational, offshore wind farms in Denmark (within the national maritime boundaries). Denmark's wind power generation is the highest in the world as a fraction of domestic consumption, reaching 47% in 2019.
Data is primarily from the 4C Offshore's Global Offshore Wind Farm Map and Database. Tariff data is supplied by the Danish Energy Agency. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm, and is usually related to a shoal or the name of the nearest town on shore. The "wind farm" part of the name is implied and hence omitted for ease of reading. (Full article...)
Davidson Windmill is a historic windmill in Lakeside, Wisconsin, United States. The windmill was built in 1900 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The grist mill was built by Jacob Davidson in 1904 and operated until 1926. (Full article...)
Amogdoul Wind Farm, Essaouira
As of 2020, Morocco had an installed wind power capacity of 1400 MW.
As of 2013, there was an installed capacity of 947 MW and 500 MW are under construction. (Full article...)
The Xarolla Windmill at Żurrieq, Malta is one of the windmills constructed by the Order of St. John in the villages and towns of Malta. It was built in the 18th century and is presently one of the most preserved windmills in Malta. The windmill is an agri-tourism attraction and is found in a complex of agricultural buildings such as a farmhouse, a chapel, catacombs and others. The windmill is also used as an art studio.
In 1674 Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner built five windmills around Malta, one of which was tax-Xarolla. Tax-Xarolla Windmill was built by Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena in 1724. Sometimes after 1998, this was restored to its original working order. It is now the only functioning windmill on the islands of Malta. This is a valuable witness of local culture and heritage; it still has parts of the original mechanisms and can still grind the wheat. In the year 2000, this building was passed over to be administered by the Żurrieq Local Council and is intended to serve also as a cultural centre. The sails were extensively damaged in a gale on 18 March 2022. (Full article...)
Leonardusmolen, in Limburg area, Netherlands
The List of windmills is a link page for any windmill or windpump. (Full article...)
Henvey Inlet, the largest wind farm in Ontario and the third largest in Canada
This is a list of the ten largest operational wind farms in Canada. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm.
The Centennial Wind Power Facility in Saskatchewan was the first wind farm in Canada to have a capacity of at least 100 MW upon completion in 2006. Since then numerous other wind farms have surpassed the 100 MW threshold, most often through the expansion of existing wind farms. All but two of Canada's provinces or territories are home to at least one wind farm, those without being Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. (Full article...)
Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill.
Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill is a sugar windmill in St. Andrew, Barbados. It is the biggest and only surviving complete version in the Caribbean. The mill stopped operating in 1947. In 1962, it was donated to the Barbados National Trust by its owner Egbert L. Bannister for preservation as a museum.
The site was listed in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. Restoration began by the Barbados National Trust during the following summer. In 1997, financial support was provided by American Express for emergency repairs. The mill was dismantled for restoration, and reopened in 1999. With all its original working parts having been preserved intact, the sails were able to turn again after the project was completed, and cane was ground again after more than half a century. (Full article...)
Mountlucas Wind Farm in Co Offaly
This is a list of wind farms in the Republic of Ireland. Locations of all the wind farms which have coordinates below, may be seen on a map together by clicking "Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap" at the right side of this page. (Full article...)
Maud Foster Windmill is a seven-storey, five sail windmill located by the Maud Foster Drain in Skirbeck, Boston, Lincolnshire, England, from which she is named. She is one of the largest operating windmills in England being 80 feet (24.38 m) tall to the cap ball.
The tower mill and adjoining granary is grade I listed building. The mill was built in 1819 for Isaac and Thomas Reckitt of Wainfleet. It was repaired and restored in 1988. (Full article...)- Greenhill Windmill is a traditional masonry tower windmill, built in 1856 at Greenhill Farm near Kyneton, Victoria, Australia.
Joseph Hall (1804-21 August 1871) and William Hoad purchased thirty hectares of farm land located on Metcalfe Road, Green Hill, at the original Crown sales in 1855. The following year they erected the windmill, using bluestone quarried on their property. (Full article...)
Jay's Mill, Button's Mill or Victoria Road Mill is a tower mill at Diss, Norfolk, England which has been truncated and converted to residential accommodation. (Full article...)
Iran power stations
In 2012, Iran had roughly 400 power plant units. By the end of 2013, it had a total installed electricity generation capacity of 70,000 MW, up from 90 MW in 1948, and 7024 MW in 1978. There are plans to add more than 5,000 MW of generation capacity annually to the power grid, which would almost double the total power generation capacity to 122,000 MW by 2022. The government of Iran planned to privatize 20 power plants by September 2010. Iran's peak demand for electricity was 45,693 MW during the summer of 2013.
It was predicted in 2014 that Iran would account for 17.08% of MENA power generation. Natural gas was the major fuel used to generate electricity in Iran in 2009, accounting for an estimated 56.8% of primary energy demand (PED), followed by oil at 40.8% and hydroelectricity at 1.4%. As of 2010, the average efficiency of power plants in Iran was 38%. The figure should reach 45% within five years and 50% under Vision 2025. (Full article...)
The Blennerville Windmill is a 21.30 m high, stone, reefing stage, windmill in Blennerville, County Kerry, Ireland. The mill has five floors, ground floor, intermediate floor, grinding floor, stone floor and cap floor. (Full article...)- This article lists all power stations in Uruguay. (Full article...)
Burgos Wind Farm in Burgos, Ilocos Norte
This is an incomplete list of power plants present in the Philippines. (Full article...)
Brill windmill, a 17th-century post mill in Buckinghamshire
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These are struts that steady the central post.
The body of the windmill can be turned around the central post to bring the sails into the wind. All post mills have an arm projecting from them on the side opposite the sails and reaching down to near ground level. With some, as at Saxtead Green, the arm carries a fantail to turn the mill automatically. With the others the arm serves to rotate the mill into the wind by hand. (Full article...)
Offshore wind farms in the German Bight
The following is a list of offshore wind farms in Germany, operational within the national maritime boundaries. Germany, along with Denmark and the United Kingdom is a worldwide leader in advancing offshore wind farm technology.
The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm and is usually related to a shoal or the name of the nearest town on shore. (Full article...)
Tjasker Ossenzijl
The tjasker (West Frisian: jasker, German: Fluttermühle) is a small type of windmill used solely for drainage purposes. It is distinctive for its simple construction, featuring only a single inclined shaft that carries the sails on one end and an Archimedes' screw on the other, in this way avoiding the need for any gearing. The tjasker is commonly known as a typical Frisian windmill though it is also found in other Dutch provinces and in north Germany. (Full article...)
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Topics
Wind power topics
Windmill topics
A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills). Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern periods; the horizontal or panemone windmill first appeared in Persia during the 9th century, and the vertical windmill first appeared in northwestern Europe in the 12th century. (Full article...)
Examples of multi-sailed windmills
Examples of tower mills
- Aarsdale Windmill
- Blennerville Windmill
- Bourne Windmill, Oakdale, New York
- Elphin Windmill
- Greenhill Windmill
- Gudhjem Windmill
- Montefiore Windmill
- Morgan Lewis Windmill
- Mostert's Mill
- Moulin de Craca
- Myreagre Mølle
- Old Mill, Perth
- Pedersker Kirkemølle
- Scherpenberg mill
- Ta' Kola Windmill
- The Old Windmill, Brisbane
- Vinegar Hill Windmill
- Xarolla Windmill
General images
The following are images from various wind power-related articles on Wikipedia.
Wind turbines in the Bahrain World Trade Center (from Wind turbine)
An isometric drawing of the machinery of the Beebe Windmill (from Windmill)
Part of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, Oregon, United States with a turbine under construction (from Wind farm)
The Nordex N50 wind turbine and visitor centre of Lamma Winds in Hong Kong, China (from Wind turbine)
Nacelle of a wind turbine (from Wind turbine)
Inside view of a wind turbine tower, showing the tendon cables (from Wind turbine)
Cross section of a post mill (from Windmill)
A small Quietrevolution QR5 Gorlov-type vertical-axis wind turbine on top of the Bristol Beacon in Bristol, England. Measuring 3 m in diameter and 5 m high, it has a nameplate rating of 6.5 kW to the grid. (from Wind turbine)
Northern Iowa wind farm (from Wind farm)
A vertical-axis twisted-Savonius-type turbine (from Wind turbine)
Nashtifan windmills in Sistan, Iran (from Wind turbine)
Kiosk at the base of the Lamma Winds Nordex N50/800kW wind turbine on Lamma Island, Hong Kong, with displays showing current power output and cumulative energy produced (from Wind turbines on public display)
Map of available wind power over the United States - colour codes indicate wind power density class (from Wind farm)
The three primary types: VAWT Savonius, HAWT towered; VAWT Darrieus as they appear in operation (from Wind turbine)
Wind turbine for power generation by Josef Friedländer, Vienna in 1883 (from Wind turbine)
The Gansu Wind Farm in China is the largest wind farm in the world, with a target capacity of 20,000 MW by 2020. (from Wind farm)
Technical drawing of a 1793 Dutch smock mill for land drainage (from Windmill)
San Gorgonio Pass wind farm, California (from Wind farm)
Hooper's Mill, Margate, Kent, an eighteenth-century European horizontal windmill (from Windmill)
A vertical axis windmill design by Fausto Veranzio, c. 1600 (from Wind turbine)
The Hancock County wind energy center in Iowa (from Wind turbines on public display)
Jhimpir Wind Farm, Pakistan (from Wind farm)
1813 technical drawing (from Windmill)
In the U.S. cats kill on the order of 10,000 times as many birds as wind turbines. (from Wind turbine)
Wind farm interference (in yellow circle) on radar map (from Wind farm)
Roscoe Wind Farm, an onshore wind farm, in West Texas (from Wind farm)
Egbert Lievensz van der Poel, Windmill Fire (17th century), National Museum in Kraków (from Windmill)
Gouda Wind Facility, South Africa (from Wind farm)
Interior view, Pantigo windmill, East Hampton, New York Historic American Buildings Survey (from Windmill)
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Wind Turbine (from Wind turbines on public display)
De Valk windmill in mourning position following the death of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1962 (from Windmill)
The Pubnico Wind Farm taken from Beach Point, Lower East Pubnico, Nova Scotia (from Wind farm)
The first automatic wind turbine, built in Cleveland in 1887 by Charles F. Brush (from Wind turbine)
An aerial view of Whitelee Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK and second-largest in Europe (from Wind farm)
German physicist Albert Betz helped to develop wind turbine technology. Betz's law states that no wind turbine can capture more than 59.3% of the wind's kinetic energy. (from Wind turbine)
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Subcategories
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List articles
- List of onshore wind farms
- Lists of wind farms by country
- List of wind farms in Australia
- List of wind farms in Canada
- List of wind farms in China
- List of wind farms in Denmark
- List of wind farms in India
- List of wind farms in Iran
- List of wind farms in the Republic of Ireland
- List of wind farms in Japan
- List of wind farms in Jordan
- List of wind farms in Kosovo
- List of wind farms in Latvia
- List of wind farms in Lithuania
- List of wind farms in Morocco
- List of wind farms in the Philippines
- List of wind farms in Romania
- List of wind farms in South Africa
- List of wind farms in Sri Lanka
- List of wind farms in Sweden
- List of wind farms in Turkey
- List of wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of wind farms in the United States
- List of wind farms in Uruguay
- List of offshore wind farms
- List of offshore wind farms in China
- List of offshore wind farms in Denmark
- List of offshore wind farms in Germany
- List of offshore wind farms in Japan
- List of offshore wind farms in the Netherlands
- List of offshore wind farms in Sweden
- List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of offshore wind farms in the United States
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