What is Electricity?

Electricity is energy transported by the motion of electrons **We do not make electricity, we CONVERT other energy sources into electrical energy**
Conversion is the name of the game

How Does a Generator Work?

Where do we get our electricity?

What is Renewable Energy?

Importance of Wind Speed

No other factor is more important to the amount of power available in the wind than the speed of the wind Power is a cubic function of wind speed VXVXV 20% increase in wind speed means 73% more power Doubling wind speed means 8 times more power

Yawing Facing the Wind

Active Yaw (all medium &
large turbines produced today, & some small turbines from Europe)
Anemometer on nacelle tells controller which way to point rotor into the wind Yaw drive turns gears to point rotor into wind

Passive Yaw (Most small

turbines)
Wind forces alone direct rotor

Tail vanes Downwind turbines

Vertical Axis Turbines

Advantages
Omnidirectional
Accepts wind from any angle

Disadvantages
Rotors generally near ground where wind poorer Centrifugal force stresses blades Poor self-starting capabilities Requires support at top of turbine rotor Requires entire rotor to be removed to replace bearings Overall poor performance and reliability Have never been commercially successful

Components can be mounted at ground level

Ease of service Lighter weight towers

Can theoretically use less materials to capture the same amount of wind