Most wind turbines have three blades or less commonly two blades, which rotate around a central hub on a horizontal axis. Blades are made from a variety of materials, such as fibreglass, carbon fibre, or wood laminates. A turbine with long blades can capture more of the energy in the wind and therefore generate more electricity than a turbine with shorter blades.
Wind turbines generate electricity by using the natural power in the wind. The rotating blades turn a shaft inside the nacelle, which goes into the gearbox. The gearbox increases that rotation speed for the generator, which uses magnetic fields to convert the rotational energy into electrical energy. Some turbines use direct drive technology, which connects the rotating hub directly to the generator.
Larger wind turbines are more cost effective and are grouped together into wind plants, which provide bulk power to the electrical grid. They do not have the same transportation challenges of land-based wind installations, as the large components can be transported on ships instead of on roads.
When wind turbines of any size are installed on the "customer" side of the electric meter, or are installed at or near the place where the energy they produce will be used, they're called "distributed wind. Many turbines used in distributed applications are small wind turbines.
Single small wind turbines—below kilowatts—are typically used for residential, agricultural, and small commercial and industrial applications. Small turbines can be used in hybrid energy systems with other distributed energy resources, such as microgrids powered by diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaics. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are typically used in remote, off-grid locations where a connection to the utility grid is not available and are becoming more common in grid-connected applications for resiliency.
Learn more about distributed wind from the Distributed Wind Animation or read about what the Wind Energy Technologies Office is doing to support the deployment of distributed wind systems for homes, businesses, farms, and community wind projects.
Interested in wind energy? The Small Wind Guidebook helps homeowners, ranchers, and small businesses decide if wind energy can work for them. This video highlights the basic principles at work in wind turbines and illustrates how the various components work to capture and convert wind energy to electricity.
See the text version. Find out more about wind energy by visiting the Wind Energy Technologies Office web page or browsing the office's funded activities. Explore a Wind Turbine. Wind is a form of solar energy caused by a combination of three concurrent events: The sun unevenly heating the atmosphere Irregularities of the earth's surface The rotation of the earth.
Types of Wind Turbines The majority of wind turbines fall into two basic types:. Horizontal-Axis Turbines. Horizontal-axis wind turbines are what many people picture when thinking of wind turbines.
Vertical-Axis Turbines. Mike vanBavel Wind technicians are responsible for troubleshooting and repairing the electronics and mechanics that keep the blades spinning. Safety is also a continuous and daily focus on the job because climbing to the nacelle of a turbine may be hazardous.
At Duke Energy Renewables, a strict safety regime is practiced, documented and analyzed to assure safety remains a top priority. With proper training, technicians can also use drones to make it easier and safer to inspect towering equipment.
Drones can zoom in on equipment, which makes it easier to see small defects like cracks on a wind turbine and reduces the need for technicians to climb turbines and rappel down the blades. This can be especially helpful when the roads are wet or unpassable. Wind power generation remains among the smallest carbon footprints of any energy source. Wind is also one of the best methods for corporations, universities, cities, utilities and other organizations to quickly shift to emissions-free energy at scale.
One virtual power purchase agreement VPPA can secure tens to hundreds of megawatts of net zero electricity for 10 to 25 years. Most agreements also tick the box for additionality, meaning net-new clean energy sourcing displacing potentially older, higher-emitting energy sources. Just like commercial solar PV projects, permits must also be secured before a wind power installation is started. This critical step will help determine if the project is financially viable and has a favorable risk profile.
After all, the goal is to have the commercial-scale wind projects delivering electrons to the grid for decades to come. Assuring the builder AND project are financially sound will ensure success for a generation or more. Existing Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions customers with questions should call Please note: This form is not for Duke Energy utility account inquiries. We do not have access to your customer account information. Please contact customer service for assistance with your utility account.
Sign up for our digital magazine to learn more about organizations that are committed to leading the way to a cleaner and more sustainable future and positively impacting the world around them. Read more. How Do Wind Turbines Work? See Resources. Ball Corporation is meeting half of its current U.
What Is Wind Energy? Graph of cumulative U. The Advantages of Wind Energy: Wind turbines typically repay the lifetime carbon emissions associated with their deployment in less than a year, before providing up to 30 years of virtually carbon-free electricity generation.
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