Wind Energy Basics
Wind is caused when the earth's surface is heated unevenly by the sun. Wind energy can be used to generate electricity.
Wind Turbines
Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more above ground, they can take advantage of the faster and less turbulent wind. Turbines catch the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades. Usually, two or three blades are mounted on a shaft to form a rotor.
A blade acts much like an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much stronger than the wind's force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins a generator to make electricity.
NREL's wind energy research is primarily carried out at the Flatirons Campus, a site near Boulder, Colorado.
Utility scale wind turbines at the Cedar Creek Wind Farm in Grover, Colorado. Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL
VolturnUS Floating Offshore Wind Turbine with Windfloat Semi-Submersible Floating Platform, University of Maine, part of the DeepCWind Consortium. Photo from University of Maine
Land-Based Wind Energy
Wind turbines can be used as stand-alone applications, or they can be connected to a utility power grid or even combined with a photovoltaic (solar cell) system. For utility-scale (megawatt-sized) sources of wind energy, a large number of wind turbines are usually built close together to form a wind plant, also referred to as a wind farm. Several electricity providers today use wind plants to supply power to their customers.
Stand-alone wind turbines are typically used for water pumping or communications. However, homeowners, farmers, and ranchers in windy areas can also use wind turbines as a way to cut their electric bills.
Distributed Wind Energy
Small wind systems also have potential as distributed energy resources. Distributed energy resources refer to a variety of small, modular power-generating technologies that can be combined to improve the operation of the electricity delivery system. For more information about distributed wind, visit the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office.
Offshore Wind Energy
Offshore wind energy is a relatively new industry in the United States. America's first offshore wind farm, located in Rhode Island, off the coast of Block Island, powered up in December 2016. The Energy Department's Wind Vision Report shows that by 2050, offshore wind could be available in all coastal regions nationwide.
Additional Resources
For more information about wind energy, visit the following resources:
Wind Energy Basics
U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Wind Energy Maps and Data
DOE's WINDExchange
How Wind Turbines Work
U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Small Wind Electric Systems
U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Savers Program
American Wind Energy Association
Energy Kids Wind Basics
U.S. Energy Information Administration Energy Kids