Introduction 4 Chapter One What Is Wind 8 Chapter twO Wind Power History 16 Chapter three Today’s Wind Turbines 25 Chapter FOur The Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power 34 Glossary 41 For More Information 43 Index 46 CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION source Wind is a clean and inexhaustible inexhaustible of energy that can be harnessed harnessed to produce power Historically Historically wind power in the form of windmills has been used for centuries centuries for such tasks as grinding grain and pumping water Today sophisticated wind machines known as wind turbines are used in many parts of the world to convert convert the kinetic energy of wind to electric power Modern commercial wind turbines turbines produce electricity by using rotational energy to drive a generator generator These turbines are made up of a blade or rotor and an enclosure called a nacelle that contains a drive train atop a tall tower Large wind turbines producing up to 1 8 megawatts of power can have a blade length of over 130 feet 40 meters and be placed on towers some 260 feet about 80 m tall Smaller turbines can 4
These wind turbines are part of a wind farm in western Kansas Wind power has a long history and is now of growing importance as an alternative energy source be used to provide power to individual homes Wind farms are areas where a number of wind turbines are grouped together providing a larger total energy source Wind resources are calculated based on the average wind speed and the distribution of wind speed values occurring within a particular area 5
