Wind generated electricity – We have been here before

The long history of the attempts to harness the power of the wind to generate electricity from the late 19th Century to the present day is outlined. The article discusses the way that the filing of patents has reflected the waxing and waning of enthusiasm for this free, but challenging, resource and the commercial realities of trying to convert an unpredictable and sometimes violent energy source into an economically viable contributor to the world's energy needs. The author opines that the key to unravelling this dichotomy may lie in the successful development of alternative, improved methods of storing electricity.