Realities and myths of wind power

In the last ten years we have seen an impressive growth of electrical generation by wind power. However this increase cannot be explained by an advance of the technology or by the improvement of the economic factors. The explanation of the boom is based mostly on environmental aspects instead of strategic considerations on energy supply. In Argentina wind power is promoted as a kind of economically viable panacea based on four myths: the explosive growth of wind power, the decrease of costs as a function of the power increase, the wind power potential of Patagonia, the analogy with conventional technologies. The analysis of these myths shows that the global wind power production is very low and it is concentrated in few developed countries, it is supported by environmental interests and protected by important subsidies. In Argentina this support cannot be justified neither by environmental considerations nor by economic reasons