Solar Energy Benefits

Posts Tagged ‘Advantages of Wind Energy’

Wind energy is a renewable source of energy and from a manufacturing point a view a relatively easy source to acquire and use. Getting wind energy and turning it into a usable energy source is done by the following process:

1. Wind hits turbine blades and makes them spin, you will probably see these huge turbines in large open spaces, especially in Europe.
2. As the blades spin a shaft inside the the box at the top of turbine (which is called the Nacelle) turns.

3. The shaft is connected to a gearbox which in turn starts rotating and gaining speed.

4. A generator is then used to convert rotational energy into electrical energy, it does this by the use of magnetic fields.

5. Once the power is outputted it goes into a transformer which then in turns converts the electricity to the correct voltage for the distribution system (which is normally around 33,000 volts)

6. The power is then ready to use and is distributed from the grid.

Although there are other factors involved, this is the basic process that will convert wind into a usable source of electrical energy. It is also worth noting that wind energy is in fact derived from solar energy, the radiation from the sun heats parts of the earth at different rates which can also depend on the surface that absorbs it. This then causes parts of the atmosphere to warm differently. Hot air will then rise and this will then reduce the atmospheric pressure at the earth’s surface, cooler air is drawn in to replace this and finally we have wind!

Since air has mass and wind provides motion for it, we now have kinetic energy which in turn can be converted into usable electrical energy.