How do wind turbines work? How are wind turbines made? What will our energy picture look like in the future? We’re taking a deep dive into wind power, and trying to make the technology understandable, with Josh Castonguay of Vermont utility Green Mountain Power.
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- Wind turbines work like a pinwheel! The wind turns the blades, and as they spin, they turn an electric generator which produces electricity.
- If you could see inside of a wind turbine, the blades are turning a rotor, basically a shaft, which spins a generator, which creates electricity.
- An electromagnetic generator has a series of wire coils, and turning the rotor makes an electric current flow through the wires.
- Wind is just one of the ways you can move a turbine to generate electricity. Hydro-electric dams have turbines turned by water. Steam engines burn fuel, which heats hot water, creating steam, which turns a generator to make the engine work. Nuclear plants create steam that turns a turbine to produce power as well.
- Once power is generated, it is distributed to homes and businesses through the electric grid, a system of connected power generation locations, substations, poles and power lines.
- Wind turbines are really big. Each blade can be 300 feet or longer!
- Wind is intermittent, which means it doesn’t blow all the time. Electrical grid operators work to balance power sources so that power is available at all times. And new research into battery technology is increasing our ability to store unused power for later.
