NEW INTERNATIONAL RECORD

Wind energy output in England and Wales in early 1995 set a new international record for productivity. According to a report by David Milborrow in the latest issue of Windpower Monthly's sister journal, WindStats, UK productivity during the first quarter of 1995 was well in excess of the best figures achieved anywhere else. The latest batch of energy production figures from the UK's Energy Technology Support Unit shows 24 wind farms operating in England and Wales. Their combined capacity is 154 MW with an energy generation potential of 404 GWh. In the 12 months ending June 1995 energy production totalled 360 MWh -- almost 90% of the potential. During the same period the capacity factor was 0.33 and productivity was 1100 kWh per square metre of rotor swept area. Equivalent figures for Californian wind farms were 0.23 and 798 kWh/m2, respectively. Turning to quarterly figures, Milborrow points out that production during the first quarter of this year in the UK was 414 kWh/m2. This aggregate figure -- for all machines, operational or not -- was only exceeded by 15 turbines in Denmark during the corresponding period. This reinforces the claim that Britain is one of the windiest places in the world, he says.