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how electricity produced by wind

Wind power:

    Wind power is energy, such as electricity, that is generated directly from the wind. It is considered a renewable energy source because there is always wind on the Earth and we aren't "using up" the wind when we make energy from it. Wind power also does not cause pollution.

Wind Turbines and Wind Farms:

            In order to make electricity from wind, energy companies use large windmills called wind turbines. They are called this because they use turbine generators to generate the electricity.

              In order to create a lot of energy capable of powering thousands of homes, energy companies build large wind farms with lots of wind turbines. They usually build these in consistently windy places. Some companies build wind farms out in the ocean. These are called offshore wind farms.

              Wind turbines are really big structures. The tower itself is typically between 200 and 300 feet tall. When you add in the height of the blades, some turbines tower 400 feet high! The blades are quite big, too. There are typically three wind blades on a wind turbine. Each blade is usually between 115 and 148 feet long.

Working of a wind turbine:

    A wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to turn the blades to make wind, it uses the wind to turn the blades to make electricity.

    When the wind turns the blades, the blades turn a shaft inside the turbine. This shaft is big, but turns slowly. The shaft, however, is connected to a number of gears which causes a smaller shaft to turn much faster. This smaller shaft drives the electrical generator which generates the electricity that can be used by homes and businesses.




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