Wind energy simply means kinetic energy of air in motion. Air flows on the earth due to uneven heating of the earth surface by radiant energy from the sun.
There are many places on the earth where the wind always presents. As the wind is naturally available mechanical energy, we can use this wind to rotate generators to produce electricity. Basically generating electricity by rotating generators with the help of wind is known as wind energy electricity generation or simply wind power generation or wind electricity generation.
Wind is a clean source of energy. It has no effect of the greenhouse on the atmosphere. It is a substitute for fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, etc. Although, coal, petroleum, and natural gas, etc. are the primary source of fuel for producing electricity, but the availability of such fossil fuel is limited. Globally, 67% of electricity generated from fossil fuels, 13% from nuclear energy and rest of 20% from a renewable energy source such as hydro energy, solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, etc. So we see how much the world depends on fossil fuel for producing electricity and that is why we focus on wind and other renewable energy sources to generate electricity to overcome the dependence on fossil fuels. Running cost of producing electricity with wind energy is quite low. Once the turbines are installed, and there is no much maintenance required for a long time. Wind energy electricity generation system takes some land for installation, but we can use most of the land for cultivation. So land is not a big issue for wind turbine generating systems. In most of the cases, wind plants are installed at a good height to obtain sufficient wind to produce electricity. It is now the fastest growing electricity resource in the world.
One single wind turbine may not be able to produce the desired level of electricity. Hence, numbers wind turbines are connected together to obtain the desired output. This assembly of wind turbines together is called a wind farm. We must choose the place for constructing a wind farm where the wind speed is sufficient to move the blade of the turbine. When the wind blows through the blades of a turbine, the turbine rotates to run a generator to produce electricity. This electricity flows down through the cable attached to the turbine tower. This cable is also interconnected with cables from other wind turbines in the wind farm.
Hence, electricity from all wind turbines comes to a common node from where it is taken for further ends. After all, this electricity is used directly for domestic or industrial load or is drawn by any grid to fulfill the requirement of electricity.
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