The wind blowing across south western WA could supply 45 times Australia's energy needs. Wind energy is in fact a form of solar energy.
Wind comes from the movement of air resulting from thermal gradients and the earth's rotation.
Depending on climatic conditions and surface topography, wind can vary significantly in intensity over a day, over a season, or over a year. Wind energy in NSW Wind energy currently contributes little to NSW's energy supply although the State has a moderate wind resource that is similar to many parts of Europe. Other areas in Australia such as Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia enjoy a higher average wind regime and therefore could produce electricity from wind more cheaply. It is estimated there is about 1500 megawatts of wind resource potential in NSW at wind speeds of 6.5 meters per second or greater. This would reduce NSW carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3.2 million tonnes per annum.