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Wind power plant development started in the USA during 1980s. This was followed by a sudden market growth in Europe a few years later. Investments in research and development led to a decrease in its costs. The biggest obstacle in further wind power plant development is a negative public attitude caused by visual impression and noise although its level is decreasing by introducing new technologies.
In the last 30-odd years a wind power plant installed capacity has increased several times – in 1982 wind power plants had 50 kW installed capacity, while nowadays their average capacity amounts to 2 MW. In the meantime new wind power plant projects are underway including power plants of 5 MW capacity and a rotor diameter of 120 m. The speed of wind needed for wind power plant operation ranges from 3 to 25 m/s, after which the control mechanism stops the facility operations in order to protect it from likely damage. Disadvantage of using these technologies is dependence on stohastic nature of wind.
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