Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth’s surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth’s terrain, bodies of water, and vegetation. Humans use this wind flow, or motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even generating electricity.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.

So how do wind turbines make electricity? Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. Take a look inside a wind turbine to see the various parts. View the wind turbine animation to see how a wind turbine works.

It’s hard sometimes to imagine air as a fluid. It just seems so … invisible. But air is a fluid like any other except that its particles are in gas form instead of liquid. And when air moves quickly, in the form of wind, those particles are moving quickly. Motion means kinetic energy, which can be captured, just like the energy in moving water can be captured by the turbine in a hydroelectric dam. In the case of a wind-electric turbine, the turbine blades are designed to capture the kinetic energy in wind. The rest is nearly identical to a hydroelectric setup: When the turbine blades capture wind energy and start moving, they spin a shaft that leads from the hub of the rotor to a generator. The generator turns that rotational energy into electricity. At its essence, generating electricity from the wind is all about transferring energy from one medium to another.

Wind power all starts with the sun. When the sun heats up a certain area of land, the air around that land mass absorbs some of that heat. At a certain temperature, that hotter air begins to rise very quickly because a given volume of hot air is lighter than an equal volume of cooler air. Faster-moving (hotter) air particles exert more pressure than slower-moving particles, so it takes fewer of them to maintain the normal air pressure at a given elevation (see How Hot Air Balloons Work to learn more about air temperature and pressure). When that lighter hot air suddenly rises, cooler air flows quickly in to fill the gap the hot air leaves behind. That air rushing in to fill the gap is wind.

If you place an object like a rotor blade in the path of that wind, the wind will push on it, transferring some of its own energy of motion to the blade. This is how a wind turbine captures energy from the wind. The same thing happens with a sail boat. When moving air pushes on the barrier of the sail, it causes the boat to move. The wind has transferred its own energy of motion to the sailboat.

This aerial view of a wind power plant shows how a group of wind turbines can make electricity for the utility grid. The electricity is sent through transmission and distribution lines to homes, businesses, schools, and so on.

Inside the Wind Turbine

Anemometer: Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.
Blades: Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to “lift” and rotate.
Brake: A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically to stop the rotor in emergencies.
Controller: The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they might be damaged by the high winds.
Gear box: Gears connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft and increase the rotational speeds from about 30 to 60 rotations per minute (rpm) to about 1000 to 1800 rpm, the rotational speed required by most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine and engineers are exploring “direct-drive” generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don’t need gear boxes.
Generator: Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity.
High-speed shaft: Drives the generator.
Low-speed shaft: The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at about 30 to 60 rotations per minute.
Nacelle: The nacelle sits atop the tower and contains the gear box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. Some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
Pitch: Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor speed and keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.
Rotor: The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.
Tower: Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
Wind direction: This is an “upwind” turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind. Other turbines are designed to run “downwind,” facing away from the wind.

Wind vane: Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.
Yaw drive: Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don’t require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor downwind.
Yaw motor: Powers the yaw drive.
See 3D Videos

Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth’s surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth’s terrain, bodies of water, and vegetation. Humans use this wind flow, or motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even generating electricity.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.

So how do wind turbines make electricity? Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. Take a look inside a wind turbine to see the various parts. View the wind turbine animation to see how a wind turbine works.

It’s hard sometimes to imagine air as a fluid. It just seems so … invisible. But air is a fluid like any other except that its particles are in gas form instead of liquid. And when air moves quickly, in the form of wind, those particles are moving quickly. Motion means kinetic energy, which can be captured, just like the energy in moving water can be captured by the turbine in a hydroelectric dam. In the case of a wind-electric turbine, the turbine blades are designed to capture the kinetic energy in wind. The rest is nearly identical to a hydroelectric setup: When the turbine blades capture wind energy and start moving, they spin a shaft that leads from the hub of the rotor to a generator. The generator turns that rotational energy into electricity. At its essence, generating electricity from the wind is all about transferring energy from one medium to another.

Wind power all starts with the sun. When the sun heats up a certain area of land, the air around that land mass absorbs some of that heat. At a certain temperature, that hotter air begins to rise very quickly because a given volume of hot air is lighter than an equal volume of cooler air. Faster-moving (hotter) air particles exert more pressure than slower-moving particles, so it takes fewer of them to maintain the normal air pressure at a given elevation (see How Hot Air Balloons Work to learn more about air temperature and pressure). When that lighter hot air suddenly rises, cooler air flows quickly in to fill the gap the hot air leaves behind. That air rushing in to fill the gap is wind.

If you place an object like a rotor blade in the path of that wind, the wind will push on it, transferring some of its own energy of motion to the blade. This is how a wind turbine captures energy from the wind. The same thing happens with a sail boat. When moving air pushes on the barrier of the sail, it causes the boat to move. The wind has transferred its own energy of motion to the sailboat.

This aerial view of a wind power plant shows how a group of wind turbines can make electricity for the utility grid. The electricity is sent through transmission and distribution lines to homes, businesses, schools, and so on.

Inside the Wind Turbine

Anemometer: Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.
Blades: Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to “lift” and rotate.
Brake: A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically to stop the rotor in emergencies.
Controller: The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they might be damaged by the high winds.
Gear box: Gears connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft and increase the rotational speeds from about 30 to 60 rotations per minute (rpm) to about 1000 to 1800 rpm, the rotational speed required by most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine and engineers are exploring “direct-drive” generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don’t need gear boxes.
Generator: Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity.
High-speed shaft: Drives the generator.
Low-speed shaft: The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at about 30 to 60 rotations per minute.
Nacelle: The nacelle sits atop the tower and contains the gear box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. Some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
Pitch: Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor speed and keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.
Rotor: The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.
Tower: Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
Wind direction: This is an “upwind” turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind. Other turbines are designed to run “downwind,” facing away from the wind.

Wind vane: Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.
Yaw drive: Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don’t require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor downwind.
Yaw motor: Powers the yaw drive.
See 3D Videos

Most of the world’s eyes are fixed upon the leaders who will congregate at Copenhagen, Denmark from next week onwards with regard to the climate and its change, but while the world leaders are busy discussing on a macro level on methods to save the earth from dying due to over-population and pollution, the working class (that’s us!) need not sit back and do nothing. No sir, we can do our part by spreading the word on various ways to keep the earth green, or if you’re more ambitious, learn more about a real-life project that is currently underway which will utilize renewable wind energy to power electric vehicles. This is currently happening on the small Danish island of Bornholm, where government, academia and industry are working hand-in-hand on an innovative pilot program known as the EDISON Project. The EDISON Project could offer unique technical insights which will go some ways in addressing the challenges of combining renewable energy with EVs.

Copenhagen utility DONG Energy is currently collaborating with regional energy company of Oestkraft, the Technical University of Denmark, Siemens, Eurisco and the Danish Energy Association, and IBM to develop the system. Depending on how far consumers allow them to go, current electric vehicles could rely on the system created to charge their exhausted batteries whenever the wind generates excess power. Needless to say, vehicle charging will be slowed or delayed whenever the wind stops, resulting in reduction of energy production. The main goal behind this is not to save the world in the blink of an eye, but to use this as a model for deploying an estimated 200,000 wind-powered EVs nationwide by 2020. Denmark is certainly on the right track as they’re currently a leader in wind power, churning over 20% of the country’s electric power, with the current goal of doubling that amount. Apart from that, they’re not short on expertise as around half the wind turbines produced worldwide hail from Danish manufacturers.

Most of the world’s eyes are fixed upon the leaders who will congregate at Copenhagen, Denmark from next week onwards with regard to the climate and its change, but while the world leaders are busy discussing on a macro level on methods to save the earth from dying due to over-population and pollution, the working class (that’s us!) need not sit back and do nothing. No sir, we can do our part by spreading the word on various ways to keep the earth green, or if you’re more ambitious, learn more about a real-life project that is currently underway which will utilize renewable wind energy to power electric vehicles. This is currently happening on the small Danish island of Bornholm, where government, academia and industry are working hand-in-hand on an innovative pilot program known as the EDISON Project. The EDISON Project could offer unique technical insights which will go some ways in addressing the challenges of combining renewable energy with EVs.

Copenhagen utility DONG Energy is currently collaborating with regional energy company of Oestkraft, the Technical University of Denmark, Siemens, Eurisco and the Danish Energy Association, and IBM to develop the system. Depending on how far consumers allow them to go, current electric vehicles could rely on the system created to charge their exhausted batteries whenever the wind generates excess power. Needless to say, vehicle charging will be slowed or delayed whenever the wind stops, resulting in reduction of energy production. The main goal behind this is not to save the world in the blink of an eye, but to use this as a model for deploying an estimated 200,000 wind-powered EVs nationwide by 2020. Denmark is certainly on the right track as they’re currently a leader in wind power, churning over 20% of the country’s electric power, with the current goal of doubling that amount. Apart from that, they’re not short on expertise as around half the wind turbines produced worldwide hail from Danish manufacturers.

Batucada’s line offers the next generation of tattoo-inspired jewelry. Their designs can be transformed from necklaces to bracelets or vice versa, and are available in a dazzling array of shapes and colors.
Their synthetic rubber is “Tough, flexible, and seawater resistant. It actually adapts to the contours of your body, remembering your shape for a perfect fit, like a second skin. It’s ultra-lightweight and even floats!”

These jewels can be worn with casual or dressy outfits. They are equally appropriate for the beach, gym, work, and evenings out. They’re the perfect accessory for every occasion and to suit all of your moods.

If you’re into environmentally-friendly fashion, but want to ensure you remain cutting edge, here’s some green jewelry to spice up your ensemble. Made of eco-plastics, Batucada offers high-quality designs in a great collection currently being sold in Europe, Asia and America in concept, design and fashion stores.

Batucada’s line offers the next generation of tattoo-inspired jewelry. Their designs can be transformed from necklaces to bracelets or vice versa, and are available in a dazzling array of shapes and colors.
Their synthetic rubber is “Tough, flexible, and seawater resistant. It actually adapts to the contours of your body, remembering your shape for a perfect fit, like a second skin. It’s ultra-lightweight and even floats!”

These jewels can be worn with casual or dressy outfits. They are equally appropriate for the beach, gym, work, and evenings out. They’re the perfect accessory for every occasion and to suit all of your moods.