Engineering

Tweaking turbine angles squeezes more power out of wind farms

A new control algorithm for wind farms that alters how individual turbines are oriented into the wind promises to boost farms' overall efficiency and energy output by optimizing how they deal with their turbulent wake.

Energy & Green Tech

Reversible fuel cells can support grid economically, study finds

A major challenge for producers of electricity from solar panels and wind turbines is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle. Both solar and wind increasingly generate electricity amid little demand, when market prices are ...

Energy & Green Tech

Bionic wing flaps improve wind energy efficiency

Wind energy relies on efficient wind turbine blades, which act as airfoils, structures akin to an airplane wing. Air flow control accessories similar to those found in aircraft improve the turbine blade's aerodynamic performance.

Consumer & Gadgets

'Ocean battery' targets renewable energy dilemma

A wind turbine sitting idle on a calm day or spinning swiftly when power demand is already met poses a problem for renewables, and is one researchers think can be tackled under the sea.

Energy & Green Tech

Scientists bring efficiency to expanding offshore wind energy

New Cornell research shows how to make offshore wind farms more efficient in the face of impending rapid expansion—crucial information as the U.S. Department of the Interior affirmed White House plans to lease federal waters ...

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Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as a pump or grinding stones, the machine is usually called a windmill. If the mechanical energy is then converted to electricity, the machine is called a wind generator, wind power unit (WPU), or wind energy converter (WEC).

This article discusses electric power generation machinery. The windmill article discusses machines used for grain-grinding, water pumping, etc. The article on wind power describes turbine placement, economics and public concerns. The wind energy section of that article describes the distribution of wind energy over time, and how that affects wind-turbine design.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA