The Power Of Wind Turbines

In today’s world, there are many different sources of energy that can be used to generate electricity. When you think of the word energy, what comes to mind? For me, I think of having the ability to do wok, whether it is moving an object from one place to another, compressing a gas, producing heat, sound, or light, and having the ability to power something. One very important source of energy that has become very popular in todays world for a means of power generation is wind energy, wind power, or also known as a wind turbine.

Wind turbines operate on a simple principle. The energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity. Click on the image to see an animation of wind at work.

Jason M. Everett claims that “The kinetic energy in the wind can be used to turn a propeller-like wind turbine connected to an electric generator. The generator converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy, which can then be used to power a wide range of things.” Because of this, “Wind energy comes from the sun. As solar radiation heats the earth’s surface, hot air rises and cool air fills the voids. This air movement is defined as wind energy. Wind that is harnessed via mechanical means is also referred to as wind energy.” Jason M. Everett states

What is a wind turbine? A wind turbine, is the process in which a turbine takes wind and produces clean energy(electricity) free from harmful gasses, to power this turbine wind is needed but how is wind obtained? What is wind? “Wind is a form of solar energy and is a result of the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth 's surface, and the rotation of the earth”(How Do Wind Turbines Work?). In other words wind is a renewable source such as solar energy. It 's produced when warm air rises to the atmosphere and later on is cooled down making it sink down, as warm air goes up cool air takes its place causing what we know as wind. Therefore the way a wind turbine will perform

Wind energy has experienced a positive growth globally as an alternative source of energy (Thresher & Robinson, 2008). Also, it has been used for supplying the deficiency energy needed after the other forms of energy. Globally through innovation and invention, the wind energy has been used as a safe energy. It’s forecasted that the wind energy in the future will supply a significant amount of energy that is required globally. Through technological advancements, this growth of the wind energy is forecasted to continue. Wind energy is harnessed through the use of wind turbines that are used for the production of the energy. The presence of areas in the world that experience strong winds, the wind energy can be harnessed easily through the

We are facing an energy crisis on Earth. Burning fossil fuels are harming the atmosphere; this global warming and affects produces chemicals that hurt our body. People are starting to think about using alternative energy. Wind power would be our first choice, because it’s clean, inexhaustible and renewable. Today, wind power is mainly used in Europe. We believed wind power would be the main source of alternative energy for world use.

Renewable forms of energy are becoming more and more necessary for a sustainable future. Wind energy is a form of energy that is becoming more and more popular, and it offers a way for people to harness energy from something natural to create electricity. Wind energy in addition to other sustainable forms of creating energy are going to start taking the place of fossil fuels as people realize the true benefits of using them.

Wind turbines can be made in different to suite different situations they are needed for- they can even fit on yachts or buildings. Picture one shows wind turbines on a Tasmanian farm.

Wind power is still the most promising renewable energy in the year of 2013. The wind turbine system (WTS) started with a few tens of kilowatt power in the 1980s. Now, multi megawatt wind turbines are widely installed even up to 6–8 MW. There is a widespread use of wind turbines in the distribution networks and more and more wind power stations, acting as power plants, are connected directly to the transmission networks. As the grid penetration and power level of the wind turbines increase steadily, the wind power starts to have significant impacts to the power grid system. Therefore, more advanced generators, power electronic systems, and control solutions have to be introduced to improve the characteristics of the wind power plant and make it more suitable to be integrated into the power grid. Meanwhile, there are also some emerging technology challenges, which need to be further clarified and investigated. The global electrical energy consumption is still rising and there is a steady demand to increase the power capacity. The production, distribution and the use of the energy should be as technological efficient as possible and incentives to save energy at the end-user should be set up. The deregulation of energy has lowered the investment in larger power plants, which means the need for new electrical power sources may be very high in the near future. Two major technologies will play important roles to solve the future problems.

Wind power is a clean and renewable energy that, while at times unreliable, has very low upkeep cost and is growing at a rapid rate. While there is currently enough wind power to provide many times our current energy need, it is unfeasible in reality. Wind power utilizes the kinetic energy of air and uses it to power a generator to produce electricity. Even though dependence on wind power is impossible, it still can provide a strong, clean, quantity of power to supplement current energy production.

Since 1980’s wind turbines have noted a remarked progress making the whole sector and technology mature in order to enable the rapid growth on the market. This is justified by Fig.3 where it is observed that from 1996, the growth is steadily increased till 2012 and is still growing. From then till now, the cost

Wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy stored in wind to electrical energy using electrical generator. Before invention of electricity Windmill was used to convert energy of wind to rotational mechanical energy. In history we have seen many kind of drag and/or lift type of wind turbines. Currently mostly used wind turbines are three bladed Horizontal axis Wind turbine and Darrieus(or Egg-beater) type wind turbine. Majority of the modern wind turbine have can generate electrical power of 1.5 to 5MW [2]. We can define capacity factor as ratio of total wind energy extracted within a year to the total theoretical maximum power of a given wind turbine. Capacity factor depends on many factors but one on them is very low wind speed which is not enough to run a wind turbine. Wind speed increases at higher altitudes from the earth surface. Thus more energy can be extracted from the wind at high altitudes and in addition to that we have higher capacity factor because of more continuous winds. At 100m height estimated global wind power is about 230 TW [3]. We can get high amount of wind energy (80 GW as in [4].) at

A wind turbine turns wind into energy. As wind blows towards the blades of the turbine, the rotors spin around, capturing kinetic energy from the wind. The rotor blades are able to rotate around the hub (located at the front, middle of the turbine) allowing them to meet the wind at the best possible angle. Inside the nacelle (the main body of the turbine), the gearbox is able to convert the low-speed turning of the drive shaft into high-speed rotations that are fast enough to drive the generator proficiently. The generator then takes the kinetic energy from the spinning shaft and turns it into the electrical energy. With the help of anemometers that provide the measurements of wind direction and speed, the rotors and nacelle can be rotated by a yaw motor allowing the blades to face directly towards the oncoming wind, capturing the maximum amount of energy possible. The electrical current produced by the generator then flows through a cable running through the centre of the turbine tower. From there, a step-up transformer converts the electrical energy to a voltage about 50 times higher. The energy can then be transmitted efficiently to buildings and homes nearby or to the power grid.

Wind turbines are commonly thought of not being complex; however, turbines are composed with much more than meets the eye. Starting at the base which has drastically changed and will continue to change as new technology arises. The base is the most important part of the wind turbine as it takes forces from all sides, and is the hardest part of a turbine to change because the whole turbine has to be taken down. With today 's technology the base can withstand loads and stress from various directions; therefore, being one of the most important aspects of a wind turbine.

Wind energy conversion is a fascinating field to study, if only because its past has been so checkered and its exact future is so uncertain. Unlike the aerospace industry, the computer industry, and almost any other successful industry you can name, wind energy -- the