"Wind Energy for the Rest of Us is a sprawling book. It's not just about small wind turbines. It's not just about large wind turbines. It's about the depth and breadth of wind energy, including water-pumping windmills and sailing ships. From how to install small wind turbines safely to how farmers in Indiana can earn millions of dollars in revenue by installing their own multimegawatt wind turbines, it's a book hard to categorize. This suits Paul Gipe. He likes to think he's hard to categorize after four decades in renewable energy. His book tells the story of modern wind energy in all its complexity and introduces electricity rebels for the first time-- the trailblazers who have launched a renewable energy revolution by taking power into their own hands."--

The availability of clean, renewable power is without question going to be the defining challenge and goal of the 21st century, and wind will lead the way. Internationally acclaimed wind energy expert Paul Gipe is as soberly critical of past energy mistakes as he is convincingly optimistic about the future. The overwhelming challenge of transforming our world from one of fossil carbon to one of clean power seems daunting at best—and paralyzingly impractical at worst. Wind Energy Basics offers a solution. Wind power can realistically not only replace the lion’s share of oil-, coal-, and naturalgas– fired electrical plants in the U.S., but also can add enough extra power capacity to allow for most of the cars in the nation to run on electricity. Gipe explains why such a startlingly straightforward solution is eminently doable and can be accomplished much sooner than previously thought—and will have the capacity to resuscitate small and regional economies. Wind Energy Basics offers a how-to for home-based wind applications, with advice on which wind turbines to choose and which to avoid. He guides wind-energy installers through considerations such as renewable investment strategies and gives cautionary tales of wind applications gone wrong. And for the activist, he suggests methods of prodding federal, state, and provincial governments to promote energy independence.

Paul Gipe, one of the world's leading experts on wind power has now created an introductory guide to wind energy systems. This book gives an overview of the burgeoning use of wind energy around the globe, describing and analyzing the most affordable small wind generators, including the new generation of highly practical micro turbines. Wind Energy Basics includes detailed information on planning, purchasing, siting, and installing a wind system, and on integrating wind power with solar photovoltaics for more cost-effective and reliable off-the-grid applications.

Wind energy’s bestselling textbook- fully revised. This must-have second edition includes up-to-date data, diagrams, illustrations and thorough new material on: the fundamentals of wind turbine aerodynamics; wind turbine testing and modelling; wind turbine design standards; offshore wind energy; special purpose applications, such as energy storage and fuel production. Fifty additional homework problems and a new appendix on data processing make this comprehensive edition perfect for engineering students. This book offers a complete examination of one of the most promising sources of renewable energy and is a great introduction to this cross-disciplinary field for practising engineers. “provides a wealth of information and is an excellent reference book for people interested in the subject of wind energy.” (IEEE Power & Energy Magazine, November/December 2003) “deserves a place in the library of every university and college where renewable energy is taught.” (The International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, Vol.41, No.2 April 2004) “a very comprehensive and well-organized treatment of the current status of wind power.” (Choice, Vol. 40, No. 4, December 2002)

Relates the history of the efforts to capture the power of wind for electricity, from the first European windmills to California's wind farms of the late twentieth century.

An illustrated guide to building and installing a wind turbine and understanding how the energy in moving air is transformed into electricity.