wind farm

A wind farm for generating electricity in California, USA. In Britain, the majority of wind farms are to be found where the prevailing (westerly) wind is most constant, such as in Cornwall and west Wales. Such generators tend to be noisy, and are therefore situated in thinly populated areas. Their ecological credentials are otherwise considered to be good, but the amount of power generated per turbine is small.

Wind turbines at the Delabole Wind Farm, in Cornwall, the first wind farm in the United Kingdom. Its ten turbines have a total generating capacity of 4 megawatts. There are now six wind farms in the county of Cornwall, with a combined total output of more than 31 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the annual needs of 19,500 homes.

Array of windmills or wind turbines used for generating electrical power. The world's largest wind farm at Altamont Pass, California, USA, consists of 6,000 wind turbines generating 1 TWh of electricity per year. Wind farms supply about 1.5% of California's electricity needs. To produce 1,200 megawatts of electricity (an output comparable with that of a nuclear power station), a wind farm would need to occupy around 370 sq km/140 sq mi.

Denmark built the world's first offshore wind farm, off Vindeby on Lolland Island in the North Sea.