Modern Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine Jet

The use of wind energy to generate electricity is now well accepted with a large industry manufacturing and installing thousands of Mega Watts of new capacity each year. Although there are exciting new developments, particularly in very large wind turbines, and many challenges remain, there is a considerable body of established knowledge concerning the science and technology of wind turbines. The overwhelming majority of wind turbines presently in use are horizontal-axis, land-based turbines connected to a large electricity network.

Wind turbines, wind systems, or wind machines are accepted terms for devices that extract power from the wind and produce mechanical or electrical power. The term wind turbine is often reserved for machines that use rotors as wind energy collectors.

Wind turbines are classified as horizontal-axis or vertical-axis turbines. Nearly all wind turbines manufactured today are horizontal-axis. Vertical-axis machines have been plagued with blade fatigue problems. In addition, the rotors on vertical-axis wind turbines are typically lower than those of horizontal-axis wind turbines. The latter positioning presents a disadvantage because the velocity of the wind decreases near the ground. Most horizontal wind turbines have two or three blades. The blades can be oriented upwind or downwind of the tower. Horizontal-axis wind turbines are actively or passively yawed to face the rotor into the wind.

Wind Turbine Jet