1. Wind Energy Today

This chapter introduces the reader to wind energy with a quick journey starting at the origin of wind energy systems, passing through landmark developments in the history of these systems, and describing the current state of the art of wind energy systems. The status of wind energy in different countries worldwide is described, especially covering North America, Europe and Asia, to present a worldwide picture of this field. For a quick comparison of wind energy systems with other systems including non-renewable energy systems, a section highlighting advantages and disadvantages of wind energy systems has been included in this chapter. In the last part, an overview of different types of wind energy converters is presented to prepare the reader of this book for venturing to the following chapters.