Global Wind Day 'to be bigger than ever this year'

The people behind an international effort to raise the profile of wind power are hoping to make this year's Global Wind Day the biggest in its history.

Global Wind Day was first staged in 2007 but has grown in popularity since then, with more than 300 events taking place across the world last year.

Organised by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), the publicity drive on June 15th will showcase how wind power works and the benefits of switching to this form of energy.

Christian Kjaer, chief executive of EWEA, commented: "Global Wind Day is a fantastic opportunity for people to participate in wind energy events and ask all the questions they may have about it."

He noted that more wind power systems have been installed in Europe in the last two years than other energy-generating technology.

This comes after EWEA revealed that the time it takes to get permission to build a wind farm varies significantly across the EU.

The organisation said that while the process is relatively swift in places such as the UK, Belgium and Italy, getting building consent takes much longer in Spain and Portugal.