Energy Concepts

From Wind wiki

How do we quantify the energy within the wind? And is it possible to harness this natural energy? How much of the energy can a wind turbine actually utilize to produce electricity? Not all of nature’s wind energy can be captured by a wind turbine, but we have definitely progressed to the point that we can use wind energy as form of eco-friendly power.

Power is a quantity of energy measured in watts. A watt is one joule of energy transformed every second. For example, a 60 watt bulb converts about 60 joules of energy every second into light and heat. To get to the stage of lighting our light bulbs, however, we must extract the energy of the wind into energy we can use.

The amount of power that can be captured is directly proportional to the velocity of the wind. In fact, it is proportional to the cube of the velocity (see The Formula). This means that as the velocity of the wind increases, the power of that wind will increase three-fold. Of course, there are other factors in calculating the amount of power, including: air density, area swept out by the turbines, and constants related to the efficiency of the turbines.

In short, one wind turbine converts about approximately 20% of the energy captured into electricity which is about 5-7 % better than solar power. The effectiveness and efficiency of power production of the turbines is dependent upon the several factors including: resistances related to the bearings in the rotor, energy released via power conversion, and, of course, optimal wind speed (which can be unique from turbine to turbine).