Wind energy has enough resource potential to cover the world's total energy supply needs, according to the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).
The group published the World Wind Resource Assessment Report, which gives a comprehensive overview of currently available wind resource assessments from most world regions.
According to WWEA, the total wind energy potential of the world, as identified by these existing studies, is 95 million MW, or 95 TW. The group says the relation to the current global energy demand of around 100,000 TWh suggests that wind energy alone would be more than sufficient to supply the globe's energy supply several times.
Of course, the group notes, the actual deployment of a very large wind capacity will depend on factors such as smart integration into energy supply structures, combination with other renewable technologies, storage options and demand-side management. Wind integration will be dealt with in another report of the WWEA Technical Committee to be published soon.
"In assessing the worldwide potential for wind energy, data and information has been accessed from varied but authentic sources such as national laboratories, research reports, peer-reviewed scientific publications and industry associations," explains Jami Hossain, chair of the WWEA Technical Committee.
Stefan Gsanger, secretary general of WWEA, adds, "The new WWEA report underlines once more that there is no scarcity of energy on our planet. We can state that we have an abundance of wind alone, although some of the documented figures are still rather conservative.
"In addition to wind, also solar, hydro, geothermal and bioenergy can contribute a lot to mankind's energy supply – hence, a combination of renewable energies makes it even easier to satisfy the demand," continues Gsanger. "In terms of cost, wind power can now beat today fossil and nuclear power. The main challenges are still in the need to change the energy market regulations all over the world so that this abundance can be used, for the benefit of human development, the climate and the environment in general."
The World Wind Resource Assessment Report can be downloaded here.
