Every 24 hours, the wind generates enough kinetic energy to generate about 35 times more electricity than humans use every day. And unlike coal or oil, these resources are completely renewable every day.
So how can we harness this incredible amount of energy, and is it possible to create a world entirely powered by wind?
What is Wind Energy The basic principle of wind energy is simple.
A series of cells or blades mounted around the rotor captures the wind and translates its kinetic energy into rotational energy. Traditional windmills use this rotational energy to grind wheat or pump water.
But in modern wind turbines, it replaces a generator that produces electricity. This conversion from wind to rotational energy to electricity has been appreciated since the invention of wind turbines in the late 19th century.
How wind turbines work There are three primary factors that determine how much energy they can produce: the size and orientation of the blades, the aerodynamic design of the blades, and the amount of wind turning the rotor.
First, blade orientation.
Wind turbines can be designed with their rotor on a vertical axis or a horizontal axis. Vertical blades can lift air from any direction, but with much less efficiency than horizontal axis rotors.
Horizontal designs allow the blades to capture the full force of the wind by detecting the wind direction and facing it. This turning process is called yawing, and older windmills achieved this by manual control.
Today, wind sensors and computer systems automatically adjust the blades with expert precision to maximize energy. Blade Orientation Beyond rotor orientation, the blades themselves need to be shaped to maximize performance.
While early designs used flat blades, modern blades are curved like airplane wings.
Air travels faster over the curved surface, creating a low-pressure pocket above the blade that forces it upward.
Since the amount of lift depends on the angle at which the wind is moving relative to the blade, modern blades also incorporate a twist, improving how much the blade can cut through the wind.
Advanced blades made of layers of fiberglass and resin, these blades are strong enough to last over 20 years through rain, lightning and bright sunlight.
Even with aerodynamic blades and a horizontal rotor, a wind turbine can only capture wind if it is in a windy environment. Wind speed is generally increased in the environment you travel through.
So today, most turbines are over 100 meters tall, with equally large rotor diameters. A turbine of this height and size can capture a lot of wind, generating enough electricity to power 750 American homes each year.
A wind farm of the same size of 200 turbines can provide twice as much electricity as 150,000 American homes or European homes for an entire year. Offshore wind farms have an even larger number of turbines.
In 2019, the largest wind turbine ever built began operating off the coast of the Netherlands. With a rotor diameter of 220 meters, just one of these turbines can meet the annual electricity needs of 16,000 European households.
Challenges Despite its amazing potential, wind energy still faces challenges.
Wind can be a free and unlimited fuel, but no matter how big or efficient a turbine is, there is a mathematical limit to how much wind can be turned into electricity.
German physicist Albert Betz calculated that since some air must remain to spin the blades, a turbine can only ever capture 59.3 percent of the wind's energy.
Additionally, some feel that turbines disrupt natural landscapes, and the intermittent availability of wind energy can make integration into electrical grids difficult.
But despite these challenges, modern wind turbines have made wind energy one of the most efficient and cost-effective sources of electricity.
Wind turbines already provide essential energy for communities around the world. And for many farmers, hosting a wind turbine can be a reliable source of additional income.
With continued improvements in wind forecasting, electrical grid infrastructure and energy storage, wind power can blow away all of our energy problems.
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