World Congress and Exhibition on Wind & Renewable Energy July 28-30, 2016 Berlin, Germany

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electrical power. The term appears to have migrated from parallel hydroelectric technology (rotary propeller). The technical description for this type of machine is an aerofoil-powered generator. The result of over a millennium of windmill development and modern engineering, today's wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of vertical and horizontal axis types. The smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging for auxiliary power for boats or caravans or to power traffic warning signs. Slightly larger turbines can be used for making contributions to a domestic power supply while selling unused power back to the utility supplier via the electrical grid. Arrays of large turbines, known as wind farms, are becoming an increasingly important source of renewable energy and are used by many countries as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

A wind farm or wind park is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. A wind farm can also be located offshore. Many of the largest operational onshore wind farms are located in Germany, China and the United States. For example, the largest wind farm in the world, Gansu Wind Farm in China has a capacity of over 6,000 MW of power in 2012 with a goal of 20,000 MW by 2020. The Alta Wind Energy Centre in California, United States is the largest onshore wind farm outside of China, with a capacity of 1,020 MW. As of April 2013, the 630 MW London Array in the UK is the largest offshore wind farm in the world, followed by the 504 MW Greater Gabbard wind farm in the UK.

High winds can occur during a severe thunderstorm, with a strong weather system, or can flow down a mountain. When winds are sustained at 40-50 mph, isolated wind damage is possible. Widespread significant wind damage can occur with higher wind speeds. During strong thunderstorms, straight line wind speeds can exceed 100 mph. High winds can blow objects around and pose a significant threat to your safety.

Hydropower, or hydroelectric power, is the most common and least expensive source of renewable electricity in the United States today. According to the Energy Information Administration, more than 6% of the country's electricity was produced from hydropower resources in 2008, and about 70% of all renewable electricity generated in the United States came from hydropower resources

Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that is collected from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, transportation, and rural (off-grid) energy services. Sustainable energy is energy obtained from non-exhaustible resources. By definition, sustainable energy serves the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Solar energy is the cleanest, most abundant renewable energy source available. The U.S. has some of the world’s richest solar resources. Today's technology allows us to harness this resource in several ways, giving the public and commercial entities flexible ways to employ both the light and heat of the sun. Solar energy can be deployed through distributed generation (DG), whereby the equipment is located on rooftops or ground-mounted arrays close to where the energy is used. Some solar technologies can also be built at utility-scale to produce energy as a central power plant.

Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat. Second-generation technologies are market-ready and are being deployed at the present time; they include solar heating, photovoltaics, wind power, solar thermal power stations, and modern forms of bioenergy. Third-generation technologies require continued R&D efforts in order to make large contributions on a global scale and include advanced biomass gasification, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy. As of 2012, renewable energy accounts for about half of new nameplate electrical capacity installed and costs are continuing to fall.

New floating wind turbine concepts are being developed and demonstration projects provide the first steps towards small generating arrays comprising a handful of turbines. This in turn will spark further research and innovation, and provide insight into how to combine technologies and further optimise designs. Many coastal areas of the world the waters are too deep for this technology. Floating wind turbine technology offers a new opportunity to provide clean energy to countries and coastal regions with deep water coastlines. Floating wind turbines can be deployed in deep to ultra-deep waters, in the 1,000 metres range and beyond.

Ocean Energy is a world leader in Innovative Renewable Energy within the wave energy industry. Wave technology is one of the most exciting areas of untapped energy potential and Ocean Energy have developed ground breaking technology to harness the power of the ocean. Given fluctuating fuel prices and the impact of global warming, Ocean Energy is now in a very strong position to commercialise the vast body of research and development it has invested in over the past 10 years. The sea is a limitless source of power and is a challenging environment, so in order to exploit wave energy commercially there are a number of key components required.