The process is responsible for the production of wind kinetic energy at a rate of 2.46 W/m 2 sustaining thus the circulation of the atmosphere against frictional dissipation. The atmosphere acts as a thermal engine, absorbing heat at higher temperatures, releasing heat at lower temperatures. The global wind kinetic energy averaged approximately 1.50 MJ/m 2 over the period from 1979 to 2010, 1.31 MJ/m 2 in the Northern Hemisphere with 1.70 MJ/m 2 in the Southern Hemisphere. Wind is the movement of air across the surface of the Earth, affected by areas of high pressure and of low pressure. Wind turbines for grid electric power, therefore, need to be especially efficient at greater wind speeds. Wind power in an open air stream is thus proportional to the third power of the wind speed the available power increases eightfold when the wind speed doubles.

Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary surface with area A during the time t is:Д® = 1 2 m v 2 = 1 2 ( A v t ПЃ ) v 2 = 1 2 A t ПЃ v 3, Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion, also called wind. The histogram shows measured data, while the curve is the Rayleigh model distribution for the same average wind speed. Дistribution of wind speed (red) and energy (blue) for all of 2002 at the Lee Ranch facility in Colorado. In 2019, wind supplied 1430 TWh of electricity, which was 5.3% of worldwide electrical generation, with the global installed wind power capacity reaching more than 651 GW, an increase of 10% over 2018. Weather forecasting permits the electric-power network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur. As the proportion of wind power in a region increases, more conventional power sources are needed to back it up, and the grid may need to be upgraded. Power-management techniques such as having dispatchable power sources (often gas-fired power plant or hydroelectric power), excess capacity, geographically distributed turbines, exporting and importing power to neighboring areas, grid storage, reducing demand when wind production is low, and curtailing occasional excess wind power, are used to overcome these problems. Therefore, it must be used with other power sources to give a reliable supply. Locally, it gives variable power, which is consistent from year to year but varies greatly over shorter time scales. Wind power is an intermittent energy source, which cannot be dispatched on demand. Small onshore wind farms can feed some energy into the grid or provide power to isolated off-grid locations. Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are significantly higher.

Onshore wind farms have a greater visual impact on the landscape than other power stations, as they need to be spread over more land and need to be built in rural areas, which can lead to 'industrialization of the countryside' and habitat loss.

Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electric power, competitive with, or in many places cheaper than, coal or gas plants.

Wind farms consist of many individual wind turbines, which are connected to the electric power transmission network. Wind power is a popular sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment compared to burning fossil fuels. Wind power or wind energy is the use of wind to provide mechanical power through wind turbines to turn electric generators for electrical power.

Solar and wind energy systems