Wind energy is the process of capturing kinetic energy from the wind and converting it to electricity. The blades of a wind turbine can catch the kinetic energy of the wind and start turning a shaft inside the windmill. This shaft is connected to a gearbox which increases the speed of rotation. The gearbox is connected to a generator, which is where the kinetic energy is converted to electrical energy.
There are three different types of wind energy.
Utility-scale wind energy is wind energy that is delivered to the power grid. Wind farms
are an example of utility-scale wind energy.
Distributed or small wind energy is not connected to the grid, and is generally used to
power a home or business directly.
Offshore wind energy is like utility-scale wind energy, but is located in the ocean or
another large body of water. Offshore wind turbines are usually bigger and create more
power.
There are many benefits of wind energy. Here are a few examples.
You can learn more about wind energy at awea.org
“Bringing wind to our community was a huge bonus for us to keep going. It has actually created
over 100 jobs from zero.”
-Paul Jackson
https://www.powerofwind.org/intheirownwords