Wind Power Story (eBook)

BRANDON N. OWENS is an energy economist and author with expertise in clean energy, corporate strategy, digital technologies, and data and analytics. A 25-year energy industry veteran, his research has been published in leading energy industry journals and periodicals. Mr. Owens has provided energy technology advice to governments, research organizations, energy consultancies, and global corporations. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development for GE Power Digital. Prior to joining GE in 2007, Mr. Owens was the Director of Global Power Research at Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Earlier in his career, he served as an analyst for the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Mr. Owens holds an MS degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a BA degree in Mathematics from the University of Colorado.

Preface xi

1 The Wind Power Pioneers 1

1.1 Work of the Devil 1

1.2 The Danish Edison 7

1.3 The War of the Currents 12

1.4 The Colorado Connection 14

2 The Age of Small Wind 19

2.1 Networks of Power 19

2.2 An Interesting Twist 22

2.3 The Savior of the Windmills 25

2.4 From the Arctic to Antarctica 27

2.5 Rural Electrification 32

3 The Birth of Big Wind 37

3.1 The High Altitude Turbogenerator 37

3.2 The Soviets Advance 42

3.3 Victory 46

4 Wind Power's Giant Leap 53

4.1 The Winds of Cape Cod 53

4.2 Grandpa's Knob 58

4.3 A Dream Realized 60

4.4 A Lesson in Economics 63

5 Wind Power in the Wake of War 67

5.1 The Wind Power Aerogenerator 67

5.2 The Search for Tomorrow 72

5.3 The British Experiments 73

5.4 The Wind Power Schism 77

6 Wind Power's Invisible Solution 83

6.1 The Death of Windmills 83

6.2 The Return of Johannes Juul 88

6.3 Learning to Stall 91

6.4 Gedser Economics 95

7 The French Connection 101

7.1 The Duke's Invention 101

7.2 The Seeker 106

7.3 The Neyrpic Wind Turbines 110

8 Germany's Timeless Beauty 115

8.1 Wind Power in Wartime 115

8.2 Lighting Neuwerk Island 117

8.3 The Aesthete 119

8.4 The Blade Breakthrough 122

9 Wind Power's Silent Decade 129

9.1 The Pope's Speech 129

9.2 Silent Spring 134

9.3 The Gathering Storm 138

10 America's Next Moonshot 143

10.1 The Energy Crisis 143

10.2 Back to Ohio 148

10.3 The Turning Point 152

11 Denmark Reinvents Wind Power 159

11.1 Feared to Freeze 159

11.2 More Than a Carpenter 162

11.3 Let 100 Windmills Bloom 166

11.4 From Blacksmiths to Businessmen 168

12 The Wind King 175

12.1 Heronemus's Dream 175

12.2 California's Soft Energy Path 180

12.3 This Is the Place! 185

13 The California Wind Rush 191

13.1 The Deluge 191

13.2 The Danish Invasion 194

13.3 Brand New Day 199

14 Germany's Giant 207

14.1 Ulrich Hutter Returns 207

14.2 Bottoms Up 215

14.3 Our Common Future 218

15 Spain's Wind Power Miracle 223

15.1 A Hot Day in Madrid 223

15.2 Wind Policy Push 228

15.3 Denmark's Design 229

16 Europe Sails Ahead 237

16.1 Wind Power Reincarnated 237

16.2 The Wind Power Wizard 242

16.3 The Wind Virus 246

17 Reigniting American Wind Power 253

17.1 Picking up the Pieces 253

17.2 Iowa Innovates 257

17.3 The Selfish Invention 262

18 India's Wind Power Path 269

18.1 Coping with the Crisis 269

18.2 A Star Is Born 274

18.3 Gamesa Gets It 278

18.4 The Path Forward 279

19 China's Wind Power Surge 285

19.1 The Birth of Goldwind 285

19.2 The Rise of Sinovel 289

19.3 The Year of Adjustment 293

19.4 Sinovel's Stall 297

19.5 Recalibration 300

20 The Globalization of Wind Power 307

20.1 Into the Fire 307

20.2 The Final Frontier 311

20.3 A Stable Sunset 314

20.4 Around the World 317

20.5 The Tipping Point 318

20.6 Back to the Future 321

Index 329