While the United States can still boast of the largest wind farm in the world with 627 turbines cranking electrical power at the Roscoe Wind Farm in Roscoe, Texas, many eyes are on the United Kingdom now with the official opening on Sept. 23, 2010, of the largest offshore wind farm.

The Thanet Offshore Wind Farm is considered the largest of its type in the world, off the south coast of Ramsgate in Kent, England. Energy company Vattenfall has reported that the wind farm has 100 turbines and will produce enough energy a year to provide power for up to 200,000 homes. This is in addition to the UK’s current onshore capabilities, leaving United Kingdom leaders proclaiming it now produces enough wind power onshore and offshore to power all of the homes in Scotland – and intends to become a world leader in wind energy.

The ongoing pursuit of wind energy and its capabilities will continue to be a keen interest amongst other world leaders as costs vs. benefits become more clear and more prevalent as time passes.

The Roscoe Wind Farm in Texas, for example, cost more than $1 billion to build, but provides enough power for more than 250,000 average Texan homes. The wind farm is located about 200 miles west of Fort Worth, and spans parts of four Texas counties and covers nearly 100,000 acres, several times the size of Manhattan. Farmers in Texas, as in other states across the country, are seeing the benefit in royalties from wind farm projects, and some are convinced that a wind farm can help revive economies in remote areas. This is particularly true of west Texas and along the state’s panhandle.

Wind-farm proponents maintain that wind turbines represent a cleaner energy source, unlike fossil-fueled power plants. In general, wind farms require no water and generate no carbon dioxide – the main heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is considered a major contributor to global warming. This is possible because the group of wind turbines on a wind farm are interconnected with a medium voltage (usually 34.5 kV) power collection system and communications network. Substations are used to increase voltage with a transformer so the energy can connect with a high-voltage transmission system.

While the United States is considered a world leader in wind farm technology, the United Kingdom is gaining recognition and attention with its latest offshore venture. In the past few years, Spain, Denmark and Germany were considered the main wind-energy producers in Europe.

Currently, Britain gets only 3 percent of its energy from renewable sources, but is aiming for a target of 15 percent by 2020. The nation ranks 25th of 27 European Union countries on green power and intends to change that quickly. And they are doing it in impressive fashion, as each Thanet turbine is up to 380 feet (115 meters) tall and the site is as large as 4,000 football fields.
Vattenfall said its new farm could generate 300 megawatts of energy at full capacity, although critics note that wind power output can be intermittent and variable. The company said the farm is expected to operate for at least 25 years.