Are wind turbines a renewable energy source?



Whenever you have travelled, be it on buses or cars on road or by trains, you might have encountered vast open spaces that are rather windy. On most such spaces, you would have also seen wind farms - a term for an area "cultivated" with wind turbines.



The principle behind the workings of a wind turbine has been more or less the same through time. The turbine captures the wind's energy and converts it into a form we can use. Wind turbines have remained one of the most sophisticated forms of renewable energy, while at the same time being cost-effective as well.



Emerging trend



While this much is quite well-known, the trend in wind turbines over the years has been its increasing size. Even though there are a number of types of wind turbines, the horizontal axis kind - or the one that looks like a fan on a pole - remains the most popular ones. Highly efficient at converting wind energy to electrical energy, these wind turbines have been growing taller. From hub heights of about 30m in the 1990s, hub heights are now pushing past 100m.



Bigger the better



The reason for this is the fact that bigger is better for wind turbines. The way wind e travels around the world implies that velocities of wind at higher altitudes are way higher than that at ground level.



Apart from this feature, which allows these tall turbines to catch wind more easily, the larger, longer turbine blades also afford increased aerodynamic efficiency.



As with any large-scale projects, such wind turbines have their own set of challenges as well. But the technology and engineering acumen at our disposal would only mean that better solutions will keep emerging to harness more wind energy.



 



Picture Credit : Google