Wind Power Plants – the Perfect Addition to Hydropower

A wind power plant uses the wind speed to drive large rotors, which in turn are connected to a generator that produces electricity. The central factor at wind power plants is the wind speed: the flatter and less rough the ground is, the higher the speed. Of course, the wind speed also increases with height. For maximum efficiency, plants are therefore placed in the open sea (off-shore) and in windy regions on land (on-shore), such as on the Pannonian basin to the south-east of Vienna.

Thanks to technological progress and the favourable economic conditions, wind is now one of the renewable source of energy that can be used to generate electricity relatively inexpensively. Obtaining energy from wind power has thus developed into a sustainable, marketable and competitive addition to the convention production of energy.

Many factors – such as the choice of location – are critical to the successful construction and operation of wind power plants. However, the most important selection criterion in choosing the location is the wind speed. The wind potential of a location can be surveyed using detailed wind data and the yield forecast.