This book chronicles wind energy's remarkable progress from its rebirth during the 1970s through a troubled adolescence in California's mountain passes in the 1980s to its maturation on the plains of northern Europe in the 1990s. Paul Gipe argues in a readable and engaging style that wind is no longer an alternative source of energy. He cites improvements in the performance, reliability, and cost effectiveness of modern wind turbines to support his contention that wind energy has come of age as a commercial technology. Wind Energy Comes of Age is extensively illustrated with more than 170 original line drawings, photographs, and charts. An annotated bibliography, tables of technical data, maps of wind resources, and a virtually exhaustive list of manufacturers, governmental agencies, and private organizations working with the wind further enhance the book's value as a reference.