Energy resources are generally defined as anything that can be used as a source of

energy. Energy resources are the opportunities an area offers to generate electricity
based on its natural conditions and circumstances. Renewable resources such as wind,
solar, hydroelectric, and wave power are not obvious - they're based on the natural
weather patterns and features of an area.

Wind power in the United Kingdom

The UK is one of the best locations for wind power in the world, and is considered
to be the best in Europe. Wind power delivers a growing percentage of the energy in the
United Kingdom and at the beginning of 2016, it consisted of 6,666 wind turbines with a
total installed capacity of over 13.5 gigawatts: 8,516 megawatts of onshore capacity and
5,098 megawatts of offshore capacity.
The United Kingdom is ranked as the world's sixth largest producer of wind power,
having overtaken France and Italy in 2012. Polling of public opinion consistently shows
strong support for wind power in the UK, with nearly three quarters of the population
agreeing with its use, even for people living near onshore wind turbines.Through
the Renewables Obligation, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide
a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty
fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MW·h
of electricity they have purchased. Within the United Kingdom, wind power is the largest
source of renewable electricity, and the second largest source of renewable energy
after biomass.
The world's first electricity generating wind turbine was a battery charging
machine installed in July 1887 by Scottish academic James Blyth to light his holiday home
in Marykirk, Scotland. It was in 1951 that the first utility grid-connected wind turbine to
operate in the United Kingdom was built by John Brown & Company in the Orkney
Islands. In the 1970s, industrial scale wind generation was first proposed as an electricity
source for the United Kingdom; the higher working potential of offshore wind was
recognised with a capital cost per kilowatt estimated at £150 to £250.
 Offshore wind farms
The United Kingdom became the world leader of offshore wind power generation in
October 2008 when it overtook Denmark. It also has the largest offshore wind farm in
the world, the 175-turbine London Array wind farm, located off the Kent coast. Currently
it has 1,858 MW of operational nameplate capacity, with a further 2,359 MW in
construction. The United Kingdom has been estimated to have over a third of Europe's
total offshore wind resource, which is equivalent to three times the electricity needs of
the nation at current rates of electricity consumption.
 Onshore wind farms
The first commercial wind farm was built in 1991 at Delabole in Cornwall; it
consisted of 10 turbines each with a capacity to generate a maximum of 400 kW. Following
this, the early 1990s saw a small but steady growth with half a dozen farms becoming
operational each year; the larger wind farms tended to be built on the hills of Wales.
Smaller farms were also appearing on the hills and moors of Northern Ireland and England.

In 2000 the first turbines capable of generating more than 1 MW were installed
and the pace of growth started to accelerate as the larger power companies like Scottish
Power and Scottish and Southern became increasingly involved in order to meet legal
requirements to generate a certain amount of electricity using renewable means. Growth
continued with bigger farms and larger, more efficient turbines sitting on taller and taller
masts. Scotland's sparsely populated, hilly and windy countryside became a popular area
for developers .
Wind power in Romania
Romania has the highest wind potential in South Eastern Europe of 14,000 MW. Wind
power in Romania reached in 2014 an installed capacity of 2,954 MW. Study of Erste
Bank places Romania and especially the Dobrogea Region with Constanţa and Tulcea counties as
the second best place in Europe (after Scotland) to construct wind farms due to its large wind
potential. Another study made by the Romanian Energy Institute (REI) said that wind farms
could contribute with 13 GW to the national power generation capacity by 2020.

Tihuta Pass wind turbine