Living Green: The Missing Manual

Wind Energy

Harnessing the power of the wind is nothing new—people have been doing it for more than a thousand years. Ninth-century Persians used windmills to pump water and grind grain, and twelfth-century Europeans built the kind of windmills you see in the Netherlands today. These ancient windmills used rotating blades or sails to convert wind into mechanical energy that powered machines.

Modern wind generators are similar: The wind turns the blades of a turbine, which spins a shaft that drives a generator, which produces electricity. These turbines, which are usually on top of towers at least 150 feet tall, can power individual homes or buildings (Hydro power for homes) or they can be grouped into wind farms (sometimes called wind power plants) and supply energy to a power grid. In such a farm, clusters of turbines are positioned to catch the site's prevailing wind, preferably one that's strong and steady year round, averaging more than 10 miles per hour. You'll find wind farms in fields, on ridges, even at sea.

Advantages

Wind energy is clean, which means it generates electricity without emitting any greenhouse gases, particulates, or other pollutants. It's renewable since it doesn't rely on a finite resource like oil, coal, or natural gas. And that points to another advantage: operating cost. Conventional power plants have to buy the fuel they use to generate electricity, whereas ...