What is Wind Power

Wind Power general

People have used the power of the wind for many years to produce mechanical power for milling grain and pumping water. In recent times wind turbine technology is increasingly being used to harness wind to generate electricity. The electricity is then exported either to the grid or used to power a local or stand alone application.

This renewable source of energy has great potential in both onshore and offshore wind farms. Wind power is one of the cleanest and safest of all the renewable commercial methods of generating electricity. The UK has the largest wind resource in the whole of Europe. Wind technology will make the greatest conrtibution of all renewable energies in meeting the Government's target of 10% electricity generation from renewable sources.

Further information is available from the British Wind Energy Assocation, which also includes maps showing all wind farm locations in the UK, and also the facts and figures about wind power.

How do wind turbines work?

Wind turbines capture the wind’s energy with two or three propeller-like blades, which are mounted on a rotor, to generate electricity. The turbines sit high up on towers, taking advantage of the stronger and less turbulent wind at 100 ft (30m) or more above ground.

A blade acts much like an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much stronger than the wind’s force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins a generator to make electricity.

Wind turbines can be used as stand-alone applications or they can be connected to a utility power grid. For utility-scale sources of wind energy, a large number of turbines are built close together to form a wind farm. Several electricity providers today use wind farms to supply power to their customers. This power is considered green electricity as it does not involve any emissions nor contribute to global warming. The power generated is called renewable energy. Industrial units are also increasingly installing single or a small number of smaller wind turbines to provide their own energy needs, sometimes creating an excess which can be exported into the grid to generate additional revenue.

A typical large-scale wind turbine may be 100m high, with a generating capacity of 2.75 MW. This is considered sufficient to power 1200 homes.

Further technical details are available from the British Wind Energy Association briefing sheets.

Siting of wind turbines

Wind turbines need to be sited in windy areas. Usually this will be in rural areas, where wind characteristics are best for generating energy. There are issues to consider around the siting of wind turbines, these can be quite contentious and may involve long and informed discussions with neighbours about the impact on the environment. Other issues include connecting the wind turbine to the grid for electricity upload. The planning process for developing a wind farm can be complex. Further information is available from the planning teams of local authorities and also from the planning team at Government Office for the North East. Additional information on planning issues can be found on the page relating to the Planning subgroup