What Is All They Hype About Wind Turbines?

It has been well advertised in the media and repeatedly highlighted in the modern day school curriculum that renewable energy sources (such as tidal power, hydro electric power and especially solar and wind power) will play an increasingly large role in the production of electricity. The most notable feature of the renewable energy ‘revolution’ is the construction of Wind Turbines. Wind Turbines are used for the purposes of converting kinetic energy (from the wind turning the rotor blades) into mechanical energy which is then used for the purpose of generating electricity. Modern day wind turbines come in a wide range of styles with the smallest forms being used for minor purposes such as fuelling the auxiliary power used to drive sailing boats as well as for charging batteries. The larger forms of turbine on the other hand are often connected in a grid and over the past few years have become increasingly used for the purpose of generating large amounts of power in the commercial sector.

The modern forms of wind turbines that are most commonly used in wind farms for the production of electricity in the commercial sector usually have three blades (which are normally coloured light grey so as to match and fit in with the colour of clouds) and are pointed so as to face the direction of oncoming wind by computer controlled motors. Such turbines can operate at a very high efficiency and low torque ripple (making them more reliable) as well as having the potential to reach a top speed of over 320 km per hour (over 200 mph).

There is a range of formats which Wind Turbines appear in, the most common forms being the those that rotate around a vertical axis and those that rotate around a horizontal axis (which is a more common design of the older models). These Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) are made up of a main rotor shaft and an electrical generator placed at the top of the turbine which must be pointed to face into the wind. Smaller wind turbines on the other hand are pointed by a simple wind vane whereas the much larger models use a combination of a combination of a server motor and a wind sensor. One common feature amongst nearly all forms of wind turbines is the use of a gearbox. This is used to turn the (normally slow moving) rotor blades so that they turn even faster, making them more suitable for driving an electrical generator and producing electricity for the commercial sector.