Urban wind energy

Abundant and perpetual wind resources offer opportunities, through technological developments, to provide part of the solution to address the issues of energy shortages. The rapid growth of large-scale wind farms has led to a generation of clean electricity for millions of homes worldwide. The potential for urban wind energy has yet to be realised and although there is increasing public interest, the uptake of urban wind energy in suitable areas has been slow. This is due to a lack of understanding of issues such as: available wind resources; technology; planning processes and energy consumptionversus energy production from turbines; economics ); and, the effect of complex urban windscapes on performance. This book attempts to address common concerns and offer examples for assessing viability in energy, environmental and economic terms. It is a comprehensive guide to urban wind energy for architects, engineers, planners, developers, investors, policy-makers, manufacturers and students as well as community organisations and home-owners interested in generating their own clean electricity.