Modern Wind Turbines

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Like old-fashioned windmills, today’s wind turbines use blades to capture the wind’s kinetic energy. Wind turbines work because they slow down the speed of the wind. When the wind blows, it pushes against the blades of the wind turbine, making them spin. They

power a generator to produce electricity.

Offshore wind farm

Most wind turbines have the same basic parts: blades, shafts, gears, a generator, and a cable. (Some turbines do not have gearboxes.)

These parts work together to convert the wind’s energy into electricity. 

1. The wind blows and pushes against the blades on top of the tower, making them spin.

2. The turbine blades are connected to a low-speed drive shaft. When the blades spin, the shaft turns. The shaft is connected to a gearbox. The gears in the gearbox increase the speed of the spinning motion on a high-speed drive shaft.

3. The high-speed drive shaft is connected to a generator. As the shaft turns inside the generator, it produces electricity.

4. The electricity is sent through a cable down the turbine tower to a transmission line.

The amount of electricity that a turbine produces depends on its size and the speed of the wind. Wind turbines come in many different sizes. A small turbine may power one home. Large wind turbines can produce enough electricity to power up to 1,000 homes. Large

turbines are sometimes grouped together to provide power to the electricity grid. The grid is the network of power lines connected together across the entire country. At the end of a wind farm’s life, typically after 20-25 years of operation, the project may be decommissioned or re-powered. In the case of decommissioning, wind turbines and other equipment are removed/recycled and foundations broken down to a depth of around 1 m. The site is then restored to its original condition and in accordance with any other requirements of the permits. In the case of re-powering new equipment replaces the existing equipment or it is refurbished in order to further the life of the project and the income to the landowner.

If you want to construct your own wind turbine, see: homemade wind generator
If you are much more interested in wind energy, wind generators, wind turbines see: Wind turbine trends

1.5 MW wind turbine