Wind Farms-the Modern Era

Modern wind farms may have power generation capacities on the order of hundreds of megawatts, and are generally are connected to the high voltage transmission system. Therefore, modern wind farms are considered power plants with responsibilities for control, stability, and power balance. While wind farm production cannot exceed the power given by the instantaneous wind available, regulating the power output is an important aspect towards balancing and stabilizing the local power system.

Most of the other technical issues with wind farms are associated with the close spacing of multiple turbines. The close spacing implies that energy extraction by wind turbines upwind will reduce the wind speed and increase the turbulence around adjacent turbines. This may cause reduced efficiency and higher loads on the downwind turbines. Another technical issue for large wind farms is the electrical grid connection and the integration into the local power system. Large wind farms are very visible, especially at land and in coastal areas, and this can play an important role in the wind farm planning process. Because of this, wind farm sites can be chosen with less than optimal wind conditions. Good wind conditions are essential for the success of any wind project, and methods for accurately predicting wind climates at specific sites is constantly being improved.

For more information on wind farms, and other wind-related topics, please visit WhatisWind.com.

Wind Farms-Overview

A wind farm (often called a wind park) is a group of wind turbines that are located together. The purpose of wind farms is to generate large amounts of electrical power. As energy costs have continued to rise, the search for renewable energy has intensified. As a result, there are now thousands of wind farms in many countries around the world. A super grid of interconnected wind farms has been proposed across Western Europe.
As wind farms, the groups of wind turbines are connected to the local power system, and are used for the production of electric power. Generally, wind farms are expected to consist of at least three wind turbines, with larger farms consisting of about 100 wind turbines. The larger wind farms can cover an extended land area of hundreds of square miles, with the land between the turbines generally used for agriculture. As such, wind parks are usually located in rural areas. A wind farm can also be located off-shore, to take advantage of prevailing strong ocean breezes.

For more information about wind farms, and other wind-related topics, please visit WhatisWind.com.

Wind Generators

Wind generators can be defined in two ways. The first is the more general use of the term, while the second is more specific. In the first case, a wind generator is defined as the entire device used to generate electricity from the wind. In this context, wind generators include the tower, the wind turbine, the blades, the gearbox, the internal generator for producing electricity, and the controls. The second definition includes only the device inside a wind turbine that is used to produce electricity. It is in this more specific sense that wind generators will be described herein.

A wind generator is similar to the alternator in your car. An alternator is used to generate electricity to charge the battery in your car. It must be driven by a belt that is powered by the car’s engine. In this same sense, a wind generator must be driven by the blades that are attached to the wind turbine. While the blades rotate in the wind, the wind generator rotates, producing electrical power. However, the blades do not rotate fast enough to drive the generator. A gearbox is used to increase the rotation obtained from the blades, so the wind generator can rotate fast enough to produce electricity. Using this method, wind generators have been used to generate electricity since the late 1800’s. Today’s modern wind generators are highly-engineered, technically-advanced systems for producing clean, efficient, renewable electrical power.

Wind is considered the fastest growing source of electricity in the world. It is often one of the least expensive forms of renewable power available. Some experts say it can sometimes be the cheapest form of any kind of power. Generating power from the wind leaves no harmful waste products behind. Best of all, its supply is considered unlimited, because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines. Electricity from wind generators is produced in quantity in wind farms.

Learn more about wind generators for home use at Residential Wind Turbines.html.