Bioenergy: Refueling the Future

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Click here for a animation of sea and land breezes:

Want to see more wild wind power designs? Visit these websites:

Wind power. Clean. Efficient. Simple

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Did you know?

Wind power is actually a form of solar power. As sun light heats the earth, heat escapes from the ground into the air above it. Warm air rises up into the atmosphere and cools down. Then the cool air sinks toward the ground to be heated again. This movement of air creates wind. [10.2]

How does it work?

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Typically, larger wind power turbines are found close to large bodies of water, because of the land and sea breezes.

During the day the sun heats both land and water. However, water heats up faster than land does. At night, both land and water cool down, but the water cools down faster.

These differences in temperature cause the air to move and create wind. [10.4]

This wind causes the blades on the turbine to rotate and power the generator that creates energy.

Major wind turbines transmit energy directly to the power grid for the community to use.

Smaller turbines can also be used to transmit energy directly to the owner's house. Excess energy can either be stored or redirected to the power grid. [10.3]

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[10.5]

Wind power turbines are so simple in fact, that they can be modified to fit numerous needs.

"Designed by students at the University of Arizona, these turbines [pictured above] are able to harvest the wind generated by cars passing by. Like the giant windmills that dot the deserts, the highway turbines can turn the air into energy. Estimates say that the turbines can create about 9,600 kWh per year. That would be great for powering traffic signals and other devices around the road," [10.5]

From the humble wind mill to powerful wind turbines,

wind power will never cease to provide.