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Windmills Used to Generate Electricity

Windmills have been used for thousands of years. However, it was not until the 20th century that windmills were harnessed for energy production. The natural, renewable energy of wind has helped reduce pollution. While the technology is simple and clean, there are some disadvantages to windmills, especially with performance and cost. (see source 2)

  1. Mechanism

    • The mechanism behind a windmill is fairly straightforward. Wind turbines use the movement from wind to create electricity. The wind pushes the turbine blades, which resemble aircraft propellers, to power an electric generator. The blades' movement turns a metal pole called a shaft. The shaft is attached to a gear that spins a generator to create electricity. Groups of wind turbines are called wind farms. The energy they generate together is sent to a power grid and distributed to the public.

    Efficiency

    • The output of a windmill depends on its size. Naturally, the bigger the mill, the more power it can generate. The largest wind turbine is 20 stories high with blades as long as a football field. This model alone creates enough power to supply 1,400 houses. Small wind turbines, called utility-scale turbines, are available for home use. Their blades are 8 to 25 feet long and the mills can be up to 30 feet high. The largest utility-scale windmills can power an entire home or business, while smaller ones provide only some of a home's electricity needs.

    Advantages

    • Wind is free, renewable and clean. While power plants emit dangerous greenhouse gases, wind turbines are completely benign. Windmills, as replacement energy sources, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by millions of tons and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. In 1999 alone, windmills replaced the energy equivalent of 6.4 million barrels of oil.

    Disadvantages

    • One disadvantage of wind power is that it is not very efficient on a large scale. This is due to the enormous space required for large-scale generation. Additionally, only certain areas are suitable for wind farms, since some places in the United States are simply not windy enough. Maintenance of windmills is very expensive.

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