Wind Turbines Convert Electricity || Wind Energy

Wind Energy Convert Electrical Energy 

Wind power is currently the cheapest source of large-scale renewable energy. It involves generating electricity from the naturally occurring power of the wind. Wind turbines capture wind energy within the area swept by their blades. The spinning blades drive an electrical generator that produces electricity for export to the grid. 

Technological advances in the sector mean that wind turbines are now larger, more efficient and make use of intelligent technology. Rotor diameters and hub heights have increased to capture more energy per turbine. The advancing technology means that fewer turbines are needed to produce the same energy, and wind farms have increasingly sophisticated adaptive capability.    

Wind Generation:-

In 2018, Australia's wind farms produced 33.5 per cent of the country's clean energy and supplied 7.1 per cent of Australia's overall electricity. Over 850 MW of wind energy was installed in 2018, making it the best ever year for installed wind farm capacity. 

Wind power generation capacity in India has significantly increased in recent years. As of 31 December 2019 the total installed wind power capacity was 37.505 GW,the fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world power capacity is mainly spread across the southern,westrn and Northern regions.

How Do Wind Turbines Work:-

Wind turbines work on a simple principle: instead of using electricity to make wind—like a fan—wind turbines use wind to make electricity. Wind turns the propeller-like blades of a turbine around a rotor, which spins a generator, which creates electricity.

The terms "wind energy" and "wind power" both describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.

A wind energy turbine turn wind energy in electricity using the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades, which work like an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. 

The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin. The rotor connects to the generator, either directly (if it’s a direct drive turbine) or through a shaft and a series of gears (a gearbox) that speed up the rotation and allow for a physically smaller generator.

 This translation of aerodynamic force to rotation of a generator creates electricity. 

  

Types of wind Turbines:-  

1) HORIZONTAL-AXIS TURBINES

2) VERTICAL-AXIS TURBINES

major components :-

• A tower or support mechanism that supports the rotors, gearbox, generator and axillary equipment.
• The wind turbine with two or more rotor blades which captures the wind energy.
• A Mechanical gearbox to increase the rotational speed of the generator.
• An Electrical generator or alternator to produce the electrical power.
• Speed sensors and control electronics to monitor and regulate the speed and output.
• Electrical cables connecting the wind turbine to the area grid.

Wind Energy Advantages:-

• Wind energy is a clean and renewable technology that does not release pollutants, emissions or by-products into the atmosphere during operation since there are no chemical processes involved in its electrical generation.
• Modern turbines produce very little mechanical noise when operating except for a low “whooshing” sound.
• Wind energy, which is actually a secondary component of solar energy, is a “renewable energy” in the sense that there will always be wind as long as the sun continues to heat the earth unevenly.
• Although wind turbines and especially wind farms take up a lot of land space, the land on a wind farm can be used simultaneously for wind generation, crops growing, animal grazing or anything else below the vanes of the turbines.
• wind is a source of energy which is non-polluting and renewable, the turbines create power without using fossil fuels. That is, without producing greenhouse gases or radioactive or toxic waste.

Wind Energy Disadvantages:-

• The environmental impact of wind energy as many people consider wind farms unsightly and as man-made structures, the turbines may have a negative visual impact.
• Wind farms require large areas of land or have to be placed in environmentally sensitive areas such as deserts, on top of hills.
• Wind farms injure, kill and disturb the flight patterns of migratory birds and predatory birds. but these numbers are very small.
• Wind turbines cause noise pollution because they produce a low frequency “whooshing sound” as the blades rotate.
• The initial investment in the turbines, transportation and ground works makes wind energy costs higher than for conventional fossil-fuel generators.
• The best locations for converting wind into electricity are far away from populated urban areas, which often means that the electricity must be stored and/or transported over long cable distances.

Conclusion:-

 Wind turbines for home use are being produced on mass scale and cost competitive prices. New wind turbines are being researched as we speech, providing better efficiency. The future of wind energy looks promising.