Windmills were used extensively in Northwestern Europe to grind flour as early as the 12th century, and were used for water pumping in early American farming and ranching. Today’s windmills or “wind turbines,” harvest the power of wind to create renewable energy.
Wind turbines typically use two or three long blades that spin to collect wind energy and power a pump or turn a generator to produce electricity that is stored in batteries.
Most wind power is produced at wind farms, facilities that are carefully placed in windy locations. As a renewable energy, wind is non-polluting and produces no emissions or chemical waste.
As depicted, the blades of the wind turbine are attached to a shaft or pole. The pole is attached to gears which are used to spin a generator.
The generator produces the electric current which is then carried away and begins its journey to our homes and businesses.