Wind Energy 101

The wind is a clean, free, and readily available renewable energy source. Each day, around the world, wind turbines are capturing the wind’s power and converting it to electricity. Wind power generation plays an increasingly important role in the way we power our world – in a clean, sustainable manner.

WHAT IS WIND ENERGY? 

Wind energy (or wind power) refers to the process of creating electricity using the wind or air flows that occur naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. Modern wind turbines are used to capture kinetic energy from the wind and generate electricity. Wind turbines allow us to harness the power of the wind and turn it into energy. When the wind blows, the turbine's blades spin clockwise, capturing energy. This triggers the main shaft of the wind turbine, connected to a gearbox within the nacelle, to spin. The gearbox sends that wind energy to the generator, converting it to electricity. Electricity then travels to a transformer, where voltage levels are adjusted to match with the grid. 

TYPES OF WIND ENERGY

There are three main types of wind energy:

1. Utility-scale wind: Wind turbines that range in size from 100 kilowatts to several megawatts, where the electricity is delivered to the power grid and distributed to the end-user by electric utilities or power system operators. 
2. Distributed or "small" wind:  Single small wind turbines below 100 kilowatts that are used to directly power a home, farm or small business and are not connected to the grid. 
3. Offshore wind: Wind turbines that are erected in large bodies of water, usually on the continental shelf. Offshore wind turbines are larger than land-based turbines and can generate more power.

Wind energy offers many advantages, which explains why it's one of the fastest-growing energy sources in the world. Wind power also presents inherent challenges in some regions of the world, which are being addressed through research and development (R&D) projects around the globe. 

ADVANTAGES OF WIND ENERGY

1. Wind power is cost-effective in many regions. In others, wind power needs to compete with other energy sources, but global R&D efforts are working on solutions to reduce the Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of both onshore and offshore wind power.
2. Another advantage of wind power is that it is a domestic source of energy, harnessing a limitless local resource. Some viable locations for wind farms, however, are located remote areas that would present challenges in construction and electricity transmission logistics. Technology breakthrough such as two-piece blades and modular construction are helping overcome such challenges.
3. An additional benefit of wind power is it is a sustainable source of energy, as wind turbine operation does not directly emit any CO2 or greenhouse gases—helping countries meet their emission reduction targets and combating climate change. Wind energy is plentiful, readily available, and capturing its power does not deplete our valuable natural resources. In fact, an environmental benefit to wind power is its ability to counter the detrimental effects of climate change. The Global Wind Energy Outlook projects that by 2030 wind energy will offset 2.5 billion tons per year of carbon.

CHALLENGES OF WIND POWER

1. Wind power must still compete with conventional generation sources on a cost basis. Depending on how energetic a wind site is, the wind farm might not be cost-competitive. Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators.
2. Good wind sites are often located in remote locations, far from cities where the electricity is needed. Transmission lines must be built to bring the electricity from the wind farm to the city. However, building just a few already-proposed transmission lines could significantly reduce the costs of expanding wind energy.
3. Wind resource development might not be the most profitable use of the land. Land suitable for wind-turbine installation must compete with alternative uses for the land, which might be more highly valued than electricity generation.
4. Turbines might cause noise and aesthetic pollution. Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to conventional power plants, concern exists over the noise produced by the turbine blades and visual impacts on the landscape.
5. Turbine blades could damage local wildlife. Birds have been killed by flying into spinning turbine blades. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.