What is wind energy, how it works and examples

Did you know that electricity can be generated from the power of the wind? It is one of the renewable energies and, in addition, it is the most efficient of all. Wind energy prevents the emission of large tons of CO2 into the atmosphere and the generation of polluting waste. Currently, a little more than 3% of the electricity consumed in the world comes from wind energy and its efficient use contributes to sustainable development.

If you want to know a little more about wind energy, continue reading this article from Green Ecology on what wind energy is, how it works and examples of places where this renewable energy is produced.

What is wind energy?

Wind energy is energy obtained from the force of the wind , also called kinetic energy of the wind , and is used to produce electricity. We are dealing with renewable energy , since wind is a renewable resource , which is also clean and environmentally friendly. This does not mean that it is harmless or that it does not have any negative impact, everything has it, but in this case it is a renewable energy with a very low environmental impact , compared to non-renewable or other renewable energies, and that turns out to be very efficient.

To learn more about this and other renewable energies, we recommend reading these other articles from Green Ecology:

• Renewable and non-renewable energy: examples and summary .
• Do renewable energies pollute the environment?
• Renewable energy in Spain .

How wind energy works

In order to harness the wind and generate electricity, it is necessary to build wind farms that will extract all the possible power from this renewable energy. These parks are usually located in unpopulated areas, to avoid impacting the inhabitants. Wind farms are designed with wind turbines , which are the devices that are responsible for converting the kinetic energy produced by the movement of the wind into electricity, and the operation of wind energy thanks to these is as follows:

1. Wind turbines have a vane at the top that indicates the direction of the wind and this makes it possible for them to rotate on the tower, on which they are located, to orient themselves towards the direction of the wind.
2. A wind turbine has blades that rotate. They are made of light and resistant materials that make it easier to move. The blades move even in light winds, and in winds exceeding 90 km/h the wind turbine stops for safety reasons.
3. These blades are connected to a turbine through the hub, which in turn is connected to the slow shaft, which rotates at the same speed as the blades, between 7 and 12 revolutions per minute.
4. However, this speed is not sufficient to produce electricity, which is why a multiplier is needed that increases the speed more than 100 times, to transfer it to another axis called fast.
5. This shaft reaches up to more than 1,500 revolutions per minute and is connected to a generator that transforms kinetic energy into electrical energy.
6. The electrical energy generated is conducted by the tower to its base as direct current and a converter transforms it into alternating current, which is what we use in our daily lives.
7. The alternating current goes to a transformer to increase its voltage (20-66Kv) and thus be able to transport it throughout the park.
8. The energy reaches the substation, through cables, to raise the voltage again, converting the energy into high voltage energy .
9. Once the high voltage energy is obtained, it will go to the evacuation line, from here the electricity is transferred to all the facilities that are connected to the distribution network, from where the electrical energy is transported to the homes .

This is how wind turbines in wind farms work and how the kinetic energy of the wind is transformed into electricity. Below, we will show you some of the most important wind farms worldwide, but first we encourage you to discover How to make homemade wind energy with windmills .

Examples of wind energy

This is a list of wind farms^[1] which serve as good examples of wind energy :

• Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm: Located in Romania, it has an operating capacity of 600 MW, making it one of the largest wind farms in the world. The energy produced by this park represents approximately one tenth of all green energy production in the country.
• Gansu Wind Farm Complex: Located in Gansu, China, this complex consists of exactly 100 wind farms and has an operating capacity of 20,000 MW.
• Muppandal Wind Farm: Built in a village in southern India called Muppandal, it is located in this area because it is a mountainous area exposed to the wind from the Arabian Sea. The construction of this park, which has a capacity of 1,500 MW, benefited the town by supplying it with electricity. However, it is expected that the capacity to produce energy will be 26,200 MWh by 2020.
• Shepherds Flat Wind Farm: This is the 5th largest wind farm in the world, located in the United States between Gilliam and Morrow counties and has an operating capacity of 845 MW. The energy generated at this wind farm supplies approximately 235,000 homes.
• Texas Wind Farm: It is the sixth largest in the world, has 627 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 781.5 MW.
• Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm: Also located in Texas, it is made up of 342 wind turbines with an operating capacity of 662.5 MW. This park supplies electricity to more than 220,000 homes and prevents the emission of 920,000 tons of greenhouse gases.

There is still a long way to go to achieve a sustainable lifestyle, but wind energy is one more option, among other renewable energies, to get closer to achieving it. To finish learning about what wind energy is, how it works and examples of it, we encourage you to discover the Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy in more detail in this post and watch this video about this renewable energy.