How to Harness Wind Energy?

The use of wind generators, or, in other words, wind power plants (WPP), allows converting wind energy into electricity. This invention is not so new. Wind power has been used by humans for centuries. But if initially the wind only made it possible to facilitate the physical labor of people, then in recent decades its energy is increasingly used to generate electricity. In the second half of the twentieth century, the USA was the absolute leader in the use of wind energy, but by the end of the 90s of the last century, the leadership passed to Western Europe. Today wind energy technologies are being implemented all over the world. Russia also has great potential to use this inexhaustible source of energy.

What is a wind farm?

1. Turbine blades. 2. Rotor. 3. The direction of rotation of the blades. 4. Damper. 5. Driving axle. 6. Blade rotation mechanism. 7. Electric generator. 8. Rotation controller. 9. Anemoscope and wind sensor. 10. Shank of the Anemoscope. 11. Gondola. 12. The axis of the generator. 13. Turbine rotation mechanism. 14. Rotation motor.

The main structural parts of the wind generator are a wind wheel with blades, a step-up gearbox, the wind generator itself, installed on a special mast, an inverter and a storage battery. Some models of wind generators can be supplemented with solar panels of various capacities and a fuel generating unit.

How does a wind generator work??

The principle of operation of such a device is as follows: a wind wheel, rotated by the wind, transmits the torque to the generator shaft through a special gearbox. Thus, mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. The inverter, which the windmills are equipped with, performs the function of converting the electric current into a sinusoidal one and additionally stabilizes the voltage. The battery, working in a buffer with the inverter, provides voltage in the moments of no wind.

Types of wind turbines

In terms of design, wind generators are of two types: vertical-axis and horizontal-axis. Vertical-axis wind generators are capable of operating at low wind speeds, but at the same time they have low efficiency. Although to provide electricity for minor household needs, their power is quite enough. To meet the electricity demand of a small home, a wind farm is usually sufficient, with a capacity of only 1 kW at a constant wind speed of 9 m / s. Industrial wind generators, unlike home ones, have a significantly higher power. Today, industrial wind turbines with a capacity of up to 6 MW are produced.

In general, the power of an electric generator is determined by the dimensions of the wind wheel, the prevailing wind speed, the height of the mast on which the wind wheel is installed. Modern wind turbines come in a wide variety of sizes. The size of their blades can be from 75 centimeters to 6 meters and even more. The smallest wind turbine produced today is a five-blade rotor with a diameter of 75 cm and a total weight of 9 kg. This mini power plant is capable of producing 600W of current with a voltage of 12/24 W at a wind speed of 3 to 10 meters per second. Of course, much more powerful wind farms are also being produced, capable of providing electricity to individual country houses and even entire farms. The only requirement for the full operation of a rotary wind generator is a constant average annual wind level..

Leading manufacturers

Today, wind turbines of various capacities are produced by many companies. Among the leading manufacturers of wind farms are companies such as Gold windand Sinovel(China), Vestas(Denmark), Gamesa(Spain), Suzlon(India), Enercon(Germany). Domestic installations are also present on the market. Unfortunately, so far, wind turbines, especially imported ones, remain quite expensive..

Natalia Vilyuma