Wind power and the rest of the global renewable energy sector received good news earlier this week in two related reports that showed investments in the green technologies reached €205 billion last year, a new record level.

The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), noted that last year’s investment total increased by 17% over the 2010 level despite the ongoing economic crisis.

by Ketan Joshi, the Operator at the Operations & Control Centre, Infigen Energy

Around the world 72 trillion watts of power stored in the wind is churning above our heads. To the layperson, this doesn’t mean a lot – until you explain that this is enough power to meet the current energy needs of the human race four times over, with some to spare. Many regions of Australia are demonstrably rich in wind resources. Australia’s southern coastline lies neatly in the path of westerly wind flows known as the ‘Roaring 40s’, and the eastern coastline possesses a particularly high-quality resource. Given the scientific and ethical impetus to adjust our electricity generation equipment to low (or zero) carbon emission technologies, it is important to honestly qualify how wind has affected Australia’s national energy market, and to ensure facts about wind energy are communicated honestly and passionately.

Some  of the UK’s media is quick to publish anti-wind power stories, so it came as a surprise when this week British papers picked up on a new study by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change on onshore wind energy.

The paper entitled, ‘the case for and against onshore wind energy in the UK,’ says that onshore wind energy will be as cheap as fossil fuels by 2016 – just four years away.

By Johanna Cafferkey, Irish Wind Energy Association

IWEA are hosting three KidWind courses starting the week of the 11 June. KidWind Ireland is a project that seeks to support teachers all over Ireland to access training programs and equipment in wind energy. The primary aim of the KidWind program is to train and equip teachers at primary and second level to teach their own students about wind energy and provide knowledge about the industry and topic.

IWEA is also celebrating safety in wind on 14 June in Dublin with the 2nd annual Health and Safety event.
Global Wind Day specific activities will commence on the 1st June continues until the 26th June and will include a number of surprises.

Much has been made of the European Environment Agency (EEA)’s recent report that greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2010. But what is equally as interesting is the key role that renewables including wind played in containing further emissions growth.

The EEA reported last week that EU greenhouse gas increased by 2.4 % in 2010 as a result of economic recovery in many countries after the 2009 recession and a colder winter. “This rebound effect was expected as most of Europe came out of recession,” said EEA executive director Jacqueline McGlade. “However, the increase could have been even higher without the fast expansion of renewable energy generation in the EU,” she insisted.