How do wind turbines work?

Wind turbines, an incredibly effective way of powering cities and homes, have been optimized to generate energy as far back as 1888. Though prairie windmills are the simplest form of acquiring wind energy, the concept is nearly identical with modern day 328ft tall turbines. Before getting into the specifics, it is ESSENTIAL to understand that wind turbines use the wind’s power to initiate a rotation of the blades in the Rotor which, to put it in the simplest of terms, is the part that spins.

There is much more to it than absorbing the energy from the rotation. In fact, it is quite common that the wind isn’t vigorous enough to produce a sufficient spin. In which case the blades would have to be tilted to absorb the maximum amount of wind energy (which is 18 rotations per minute without the nacelle). The nacelle, which is the thingy that sticks out behind the blades, houses the turbine itself. What the nacelle does is it provides a set of gears that boosts the rotation speed to 1800 rpm, which is sufficient enough to power the generator to produce electricity!!!!!!

Why are wind turbines so tall, you ask? The higher they are from the ground increases the wind flow by eliminating some of the drag created by the ground and obstructions. Obviously, that’s what we want!! Since more wind=more spin and more spin=more energy, deserts are the ideal habitat to place windmills due to the amount of wind that flows through them. But why stop there when we can easily place them in our oceans and lakes, which provide a CONSISTENT supply of wind energy. These are called offshore wind farms.

The cool thing about wind turbines is that they generate CLEAN energy and even a small farm can power an entire town! In my opinion, offshore wind farms are the cleanest and most efficient forms of acquiring energy. Unfortunately, the U.S does not have any offshore wind farms but we are currently in the developmental state because they lack proper funding. Overall, with the installation of more wind turbine farms, offshore wind farms specifically, America’s future is looking bright. The most we can do at this point is pray that the Department of Energy finally raises enough money to fund it.
Sources: http://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work

• Johny

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