How Wind Power Works

Wind is a natural environmental occurrence in which air flows at varying rates throughout isolated areas or on a global scale. Since wind is a force, it can be put to use if harnessed appropriately.

Wind power is not new, and has been used for thousands of years, albeit it is only recently that it has been converted in to electricity for those power companies who are going green. Even today, sail boats use wind as their means of transportation. It was not until 1979 that the wind industry we know today came in to existence. Since then, countries have quickly adopted it, and in recent years, wind power has been the fastest growing source of renewable energy. Denmark is a leading example of how useful wind energy can be, as they generate one-fifth of their national electricity from wind.
Air is a fluid comprised of gaseous particles, and since particles have mass, they exert kinetic energy when in motion. Wind turbines simply convert this energy in to a more useful form. When fast moving air comes in contact with a turbine, it forces it to turn. The device is connected to a generator close by that changes the rotational energy in to stored energy. Being that one wind turbine cannot collect large amounts of energy on its own, wind farms have been established that utilize a multitude of wind apparatuses.

The primary design most people are familiar with is the horizontal axis-wind turbine, which is the three bladed structure shown when referring to wind power. The alternative is the vertical-axis design, although these are much less efficient than their horizontal counterparts, and thus are rarely used.