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Wind power has come a long way since the days of old mills dotting the Dutch countryside. Sure, this endlessly blowing fuel is far from a panacea for worldwide energy concerns, but as engineers propel through its problems, it has become a more and more compelling source of energy—even if the United States has a long way to go.

Wind's future took another step toward energy prominence (if not dominance) this week when the United Kingdom unveiled a plan for what could be one of the most ambitious expansions of wind power the world has ever seen. Through the construction of hundreds of offshore turbines, the country hopes to harvest up to 33GW of wind-driven energy.

"If we could manage to achieve this, by 2020 enough energy could be generated off our shores to power the equivalent of all of the UK's homes," UK Energy Secretary John Hutton told European energy industry leaders at a meeting in Berlin, where he unveiled the plan.

Since the proposed project would dramatically change the British coast, it will be subject to an environmental review. —Seth Porges