Introduction to producing wind energy
Wind is a source of energy that has been harnessed for different applications since a long time.
The Chinese and the Babylonians have been famous for using wind power for the pumping of water for irrigation of crops some 4,000 years back.
And in addition to this, sailing boats were harnessing wind power long before that.
It has been recorded that wind power was used in Europe in the Middle Ages for other activities like grinding of corn.
In fact, this is what has been attributed to the start of the term windmill. To understand the concept of wind power, it is better to first understand the science behind wind formation.
With the sun heating the atmosphere unevenly, some patches of land become warmer than others; and this is where warm patches of air rise. With this, other air starts blowing to replace them and start a wind blowing. The energy produced from the wind is used by building a tall tower which has a large propeller on its top.
The propeller starts turning round with wind energy, which in turn turns a generator to produce electricity. Many of these towers are built together to form a ‘wind farm’ for the production of electricity. The production of electricity is increased by using more towers to turn more wind with larger propellers.
It is basically better to build win farms having strong and steady winds like coastal areas, open plains, tops of rounded hills and gaps in mountains.
It is required to have at least an average wind speed of about 25km/h to generate electricity with wind power. Small wind generators are used in boats and caravans to charge their batteries.
Large propellers are used in windmills to extract maximum energy from wind power. Their blades are angled to fine or coarse pitch so that it copes with varying wind speeds. It is possible to turn the generator and propeller to face the wind, to harness maximum wind power.
There are some windmills with vertical turbines which do not have to be turned to face the wind. Towers are usually tall as the higher the propellers reach the stronger is the wind there. with this feature, the land beneath the tower is not wasted, and can be used for farming.
Wind energy is produced once the wind blows on blades to make them turn. These blades in turn turn a shaft in the nacelle, which goes into a gearbox to increase the rotation speed of the generator. The rotational energy is converted into electrical energy with magnetic fields.
This energy goes into a transformer to convert the 700V energy into the required voltage for distribution, 33,000V. this energy is transmitted around the country through the national grid.
Wind power is not only used in large scale wind farms for national electrical grids but is also used in small individual turbines for providing electricity to rural residences and locations that are not reachable by grids. With wind power being renewable, widely distributed and clean, it reduces toxins and greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
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Wind power is a smart solution to supplemental energy needs. Here in Hokkaido Japan, we have huge windmill farms that are responsible for supplying whole towns with the energy they require.
Just makes good sense eh?