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Mega wind farms could steer storms
To find out what effects, if any, large scale wind farms might have on wind patterns, Daniel Barrie and Daniel Kirk-Davidoff of the University of Maryland concocted an experiment. ...On average, the mammoth installation lowered wind speeds by 2-3 meters per second (5.5-6.7 miles per hour) immediately downwind. But the turbines also disrupted air currents on a large scale that rippled out like waves across the northern hemisphere.
November 25, 2008
by Michael Reilly
in Discovery News
Mega wind farms of the future could have a major impact on weather, clearing up cloudy skies and even steering storm systems, according to new research.
In the United States, wind power still only accounts for a little over 1 percent of electricity generation. But the industry is growing fast, from 17 gigawatts of installed capacity at the end of 2007 to 21 through the end of September.
And the U.S. Department of Energy is upping the ante even further, with plans for the country to generate 20 percent of its electricity through wind by 2030. Wind turbines could soon be carpeting... [continue via Web link]
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