wind power

Use of the energy in winds to produce power. Though wind is irregular and spread out, it contains tremendous amounts of energy. Sophisticated wind turbines have been developed to convert this energy to electric power. The use of wind-energy systems grew considerably in the 1980s and '90s. Germany today produces more wind energy than any other country. Some 15,000 wind turbines are now in operation in California. See also windmill.

Wind power

The extraction of kinetic energy from the wind and conversion of it into a useful type of energy: thermal, mechanical, or electrical. Wind power has been used for centuries.

It has been estimated that the total wind power in the atmosphere averages about 3.6 × 10¹² kW, which is an annual energy of about 107,000 quads (1 quad = 2.931 × 10¹¹ kWh). Only a fraction of this wind energy can be extracted, estimated to be a maximum of 4000 quads per year. According to what is commonly known as the Betz limit, a maximum of 59% of this power can be extracted by a wind machine. Practical machines actually extract from 5 to 45% of the available power. Because the available wind power varies with the cube of wind speed, it is very important to find areas with high average wind speeds to locate wind machines.

Most research on wind power has been concerned with producing electricity. Wind power is a renewable energy source that has virtually no environmental problems. However, wind power has limitations. Wind machines are expensive and can be located only where there is adequate wind. These high-wind areas may not be easily accessible or near existing high-voltage lines for transmitting the wind-generated energy. Another disadvantage occurs because the demand for electricity varies with time, and electricity production must follow the demand cycle. Since wind power varies randomly, it may not be available when needed. The storage of electrical energy is difficult and expensive, so that wind power must be used in parallel with some other type of generator or with nonelectrical storage. Wind power teamed with hydroelectric generators is attractive because the water can be used for energy storage, and operation with underground compressed-air storage is another option. See Electric power generation, Energy sources, Energy storage

The most common type of wind turbine for producing electricity has a horizontal axis, with two or more aerodynamic blades mounted on the horizontal shaft. With a horizontal-axis machine, the blade tips can travel at several times the wind speed, which results in a high efficiency. The blade shape is designed by using the same aerodynamic theory as for aircraft. See Propeller (aircraft), Turbine