39 Wind Turbine Facts: Explore More Details On Renewable Energy

Sustainable living is the primary goal of all humans on Earth, and the usage of renewable energy is the key to this sustainable living.

One such source of renewable energy is wind energy, in which wind turbines convert kinetic energy into electrical or mechanical energy. Wind turbines are devices that are responsible for converting kinetic energy into mechanical or electrical energy.

There are places across the world where thousands of such modern wind turbines are installed on a piece of land, referred to as wind farms. Several countries are developing wind farms and promoting the wind energy industry to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

The concept of using wind power to get work done is nothing new, as earlier humans would use this wind power to pump water or crush grain. But, these days, modern wind turbines form wind farms that lead to electricity production.

A modern wind turbine produces electricity by employing rotational energy that further drives an electrical generator.

While a wind turbine may seem pretty similar to an olden-day windmill, the former is much more complicated and is a machine made of many components. Scroll down to learn more exciting wind turbine facts.

Define Wind Turbine

Wind turbines are machines that have the capability to convert the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. When many such wind turbines are established at one location, they form a wind farm.

• While wind turbines aren't exactly the same as windmills, they also use wind power to generate electricity. One of the earliest instances of human use of wind power was when sailors used wind power to sail to far-off places.
• With the development of the wind industry in the past years, countries such as the United States have set up some massive wind turbines. One of the largest turbines in the world are located at a wind farm in Hawaii, USA.
• The modern turbines are around 20 stories tall, and the length of each of their blades is equivalent to the size of a football field.
• Several studies have shown that of all the renewable sources of energy, wind energy is the fastest-growing industry. The wind industry already has a strong foothold in Europe and America.
• China leads the race in the maximum capacity of wind energy by a country, followed closely by United States and Germany.
• The world saw the first modern wind turbine in the early '40s in Vermont. Although it operated for only 1,100 hours, it remained the largest turbine until 1979.
• A wind turbine has blades of up to 200 ft (61 m) in length; this shows the massive size of the wind turbines.
• It is necessary to store the power produced by wind turbines as wind energy is an inconsistent and intermittent power source.
• The blades of a wind turbine are made of durable materials, including glass fibers, vinyl, epoxy resins, and carbon fibers.

Working Of Wind Turbine

While the concept of wind power is not new to mankind, the idea of using wind turbines to convert wind energy into electrical energy was first introduced in the early 20th century.

• The German physicist Albert Betz is known to be the pioneer of wind turbine technology.
• He is credited for the discovery of wind energy theory. His 1926 book 'Wind Energy And Its Use By Windmills' talks about the same.
• Wind turbines use wind energy from wind power to generate electrical energy. Wind power is responsible for turning the blades of turbines around a rotor that further spins a generator, leading to electricity generation.
• As the wind blows, these blades spin and transfer the motion to a shaft connected to a generator within, leading to electricity generation.
• At the same time, these wind turbines can be built on land as well as on large water bodies called offshore wind turbines.
• The US Department of Energy has funded multiple projects facilitating the development of offshore wind turbines.
• The amount of energy produced by a wind turbine situated on land or by an offshore wind turbine is directly proportional to the wind speed.
• While higher wind speed leads to more energy produced, different types of wind turbines are manufactured for varying wind speeds.
• Although Albert Betz stated that a large wind turbine can convert up to 59.3% of the wind's kinetic energy, an average wind turbine is known to operate with an efficiency rate of 20-30%.
• The working process of turning wind energy into electrical energy also uses the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades. These rotor blades work like a helicopter blade or an airplane wing.
• Ideally, the average wind speed should be around 8 mph (12.9 kph) for around 18-20 hours a day to facilitate satisfactory levels of energy production.
• At times, the tips of the wings of a wind turbine move at a speed of 200 mph (321.9 kph) if the wind speed is high enough.

Reasons For Using Wind Turbine

Wind turbines turn the wind's kinetic energy into electrical energy without any hassle, producing no greenhouse gases.

• Wind energy is one of the cleanest sources of renewable energy. While earlier wind power was used merely to pump water and chop grain, it can now be used to provide electricity to entire towns and cities.
• While people believe that the only application of wind turbines is by creating wind farms that harness wind energy, one can also install a small turbine in their backyard to power their homes or a small-scale business.
• Several small-scale wind farms provide an additional source of rental income to rural communities.
• The electricity generated from wind turbines is green energy as it does not produce any greenhouse gases and emits no waste.
• The smaller wind turbines, if installed on the roof of a house, can also be used to be a source of backup power.
• Wind turbine technology can be employed to undergo mass production of electricity by installing multiple wind turbines, creating a huge wind farm.
• The wind energy industry is also a source of employment, providing jobs to millions of people every year.
• Wind turbine technology, which is the basis for harnessing wind energy, is getting more efficient every day owing to which wind energy has gotten cheaper in the recent years.
• On average, the wind industry in the United States is known to employ a total of 120,000 people. Of these, around 43,400 are part of the construction crew, while 23,600 comprise the manufacturing department.
• Wind energy is inexhaustible and is a local method of producing electricity. It leaves no residue and is pretty cheap in the long run.
• Wind turbines hardly use any water in the process of energy production. Studies through the years showed the amount of water saved in those years owing to the installation of wind power facilities.
• It is also believed that the use of wind turbines for harnessing wind energy can lower carbon dioxide output by a huge margin, which might equal the amount of carbon dioxide produced by some million cars on average.

Electricity Produced By Wind Turbine

Wind turbines use wind power to harness energy and ultimately produce electricity. Many turbines these days are of greater heights. This is due to the fact that at a higher altitude, the wind speeds are more significant, leading to more electricity production.

• The wind power capacity of the United States was around 137,000 megawatts in the middle of 2022.
• More than 40 states in the United States have utility-scale wind power, while all the states in the country have distributed wind.
• Wind energy accounts for around half of the total power output in the states of South Dakota and Iowa.
• In the American states of North Dakota, Kansas, and Oklahoma, around 30% of the total energy generated is from wind energy.
• Owing to the massive production capacity of wind turbines, a wind turbine situated in one of the offshore locations can power more than 3,000 households on average.
• The offshore wind energy projects are equally capable of producing electricity. These projects provide an opportunity to provide energy to millions of homes in coastal cities.