When The Wind Blows

when the wind blows

A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. A wind farm can also be located offshore.

Many of the largest operational onshore wind farms are located in China, India, and the United States. For example, the largest wind farm in the world, Gansu Wind Farm in China has a capacity of over 6,000 MW as of 2012, with a goal of 20,000 MW by 2020. As of April 2013, the 630 MW London Array in the UK is the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

As a general rule, economic wind generators require wind speed of 4.5 m/s (16 km/h) or greater. An ideal location would have a near constant flow of non-turbulent wind throughout the year, with a minimum likelihood of sudden powerful bursts of wind. An important factor of turbine siting is also access to local demand or transmission capacity

World's largest onshore wind farms

Wind farm	Current capacity (MW)	Country	Notes
Gansu Wind Farm	6,800	China	[1][7][8][9][10]
Zhang Jiakou	3,000	China	[7]
Urat Zhongqi, Bayannur City	2,100	China	[7]
Hami Wind Farm	2,000	China	[7]
Damao Qi, Baotou City	1,600	China	[7]
Alta (Oak Creek-Mojave)	1,320	United States	[11]
Jaisalmer Wind Park	1,064	India	[12]
Hongshagang, Town, Minqin County	1,000	China	[7]
Kailu, Tongliao	1,000	China	[7]
Chengde	1,000	China	[7]
Buffalo Gap Wind Farm	523.3	United States	[13][14]
Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm	662.5	United States	[13][14]
Dabancheng Wind Farm	500	China	[15]
Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm	600	Romania	[16]
Fowler Ridge Wind Farm	599.8	United States	[17]
Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center	735.5	United States	[13][14]
Meadow Lake Wind Farm	500	United States	[17]
Panther Creek Wind Farm	458	United States	[14]
Roscoe Wind Farm	781.5	United States	[18]
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm	845	United States
Sweetwater Wind Farm	585.3	United States	[13]
Whitelee Wind Farm	539	Scotland, U.K