Wind power has been rising significantly in recent years, and now accounts for about 8% of the world’s energy production. By the end of the decade, it will be the second-largest renewable source after solar, having surpassed hydropower, according to the International Energy Agency.
Wind turbines are more efficient than solar panels — they harness, on average, about 50% of the energy that goes through them compared to about 20% for solar — but are more dependent on location. Offshore turbines benefit from stronger winds and are more efficient than those on land, but they are also more expensive to build and maintain.
In the UK, where wind power generation in 2024 was the largest energy source for the first time, a startup called Drift is looking to extract even more power from offshore wind by effectively chasing after it — in a racing yacht.
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