Energy industry

The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industry is a crucial part of the infrastructure and maintenance of society in almost all countries.

In particular, the energy industry comprises:

Wind power

Air flow through wind turbines or sails can produce significant mechanical power. Windmills are used for their mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping, and sails to propel ships, but the most frequent current use is to turn a generator for electrical power. Wind power, as an alternative to burning fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and uses little land. The net effects on the environment are far less problematic than those of nonrenewable power sources.

Wind farms consist of many individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network. Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electricity, competitive with or in many places cheaper than coal or gas plants. Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land, and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher. Small onshore wind farms can feed some energy into the grid or provide electricity to isolated off-grid locations.

Wind Energy (journal)

Wind Energy is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on wind power. It is published by John Wiley & Sons and the editors-in-chief are Rebecca Barthelmie (Cornell University) and Scott Schreck (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2013 impact factor of 2.556, ranking it 35th out of 83 journals in "Energy & Fuels" and 12th out of 128 journals in "Engineering Mechanical".

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