Wind generation now meets a significant percentage of electrical demand globally  and last year the world added a record 44.8 gigawatts (GW) of wind power, bringing the total to more than 282.5 GW, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In its annual report for 2012, the IEA said that the global wind power capacity now operating in 100 countries can provide more than 3% of the world’s electricity demand.

The report noted that the IEA believes that 15% to 18% of global electricity can be met by wind energy by 2050.

Think wind turbines cost too much taxpayer money? That the wind farm planned for the neighbourhood will bring down your house price? That you won’t be able to sleep for the noise?

The ‘Act on Facts’ campaign launched by Vestas in Australia in June 2013 and today, 24 October in Sweden, puts the facts on the table and exposes myths like those above for what they are through short videos and an information packed website: www.ActOnFacts.org.

“Wind energy projects are being put at risk by an increasingly organised and influential anti-wind

Significant, concerted action is now required to stop the continued growth of toxic greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels, says the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on global warming.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years, the IPCC found.

“CO2 concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily from fossil fuel emissions,” the report, released in Stockholm, said, adding it is extremely likely, with at least 95% certainty, that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.

“Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system,” the report stated. “Limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, is to install a wind turbine at its headquarters.

An RSPB press release said the organisation believes renewable energy is an essential tool in the fight against climate change, which poses the single biggest threat to the long-term survival of birds and wildlife.

The press release said the RSPB, which has more than one million members, is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by generating energy needs from renewable sources wherever possible.

“We’ve been undertaking the appropriate environmental assessments and are confident that the wind turbine will have no major impacts on populations of birds, bats and other plants and animals,” the press release said.

The number of people working in the UK wind industry has risen to 9,900 up from 6,600 by 2010 – a climb of 70% – new research shows.

“When indirect employment is included, the report shows a total of 34,300 people rely on industries that barely existed a decade ago, a figure that researchers say could jump to 70,000 over the next decade”, said the Financial Times, reporting on the independent study, ‘Working for a Green Britain and Northern Ireland’.