How can wind turbines be used to generate electricity?

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A Report On Wind Power

How can wind turbines be used to generate electricity?

Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more aboveground, they can take advantage of the faster and less turbulent wind. Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades. Usually, two or three blades are mounted on a shaft to form a rotor.

A blade acts much like an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much stronger than the wind's force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft is connected to a generator causing the generator to spin, which in turn produces electricity. 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.

Wind turbines can be used as stand-alone applications, which are typically used for water pumping or communications. However, homeowners, farmers, and ranchers in windy areas can also use wind turbines as a way to cut their electric bills. Or they can be connected to a utility power grid. Large numbers of wind turbines are usually built close together to form a wind plant.

Suitable Locations

UK

The UK has both on and offshore wind turbines and this is one of the most promising alternative energy sources being developed in the UK. Obviously wind power is dependant on the weather. To make the most of the available wind, wind turbines need to be situated in areas with high and regular wind speeds which tend to be mountainous or near the coast, (as shown on the above map). Transmitters need similar sites and this limits the locations available for turbines. In 1982 the UK's first turbine was built onshore in South Wales by the Central Electricity Generating Board. From the late 80's plans started emerging to build an offshore turbine of the coast of Norfolk in the North Sea. The advantages of having offshore turbines are that they are more environmentally acceptable and winds are generally stronger. The reason why wind turbines have not become wide spread in the UK, since there is enough wind to meet all the UK's needs, is that the turbines are more expensive to build and maintain than conventional means of energy, i.e. fossil fuel burning and nuclear power. Scotland is already well on its way to generating a targeted 18% of its electricity using wind power in 2010. Currently there are 11 wind farms in Scotland operating 219 turbines. Other popular locations for wind turbines to be situated in the UK include Cornwall, Wales and the North West of England. Wind farms provide the equivalent of enough energy to power 60,000 homes in the UK.
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Globally

Popular locations for wind farms to be situated globally include Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, North America especially California, Australia, China and India. Along the Altamont Pass in California the wind is concentrated in the Pass and powers the turbines. The electricity generated is fed into California's electricity grid and supplies up to 200,000 homes. About 90% of the electricity generated by wind power in the world is produced in California. Wind technology is also being developed in the Netherlands where there are two wind farms and in Sweden where they are planning a big development, ...

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