Most people know what wind turbines are but few know how they actually work. This article explains how wind turbines harness the power of wind energy to generate electricity.
When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases, which creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin. The rotor connects to the generator, either directly or through a gearbox, which creates electricity. Wind power plants produce electricity by having an array of wind turbines in the same location. Wind speed increases with height; thus, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
This article also provides explanations of other components of wind turbines, such as wind vanes, anemometers, blades, gearboxes and rotors.
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