Wind Speeds Are Increasing Worldwide in Boost for Renewables
- Wind farms could generate 37% more energy in coming years
- Shift in oceans and atmosphere is main influence on breezes
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
The world is getting windier at the same time that developers are installing more turbines to generate electricity from breezes.
Average wind speeds rose about 7% since 2010 in northern mid-latitude regions, reversing a trend of slowing winds in the decades prior, according to a group of researchers from institutions including Princeton University. The findings, published Monday in Nature Climate Change, forecast that wind farms will produce significantly more energy than anticipated as a result of the shift in the coming years.