A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines and other applications. The term wind engine is sometimes used to describe such devices.
A windpump is a type of windmill which is used for pumping water.
Wind power or wind energy is the use of wind to provide mechanical power through wind turbines to turn electric generators for electrical power. Wind power is a popular sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment compared to burning fossil fuels.
The ExPlace Wind Turbine is a 91-metre (299 ft) tall wind turbine located on the grounds of the Exhibition Place co-owned by the WindShare for-profit co-operative and Toronto Hydro. It is the first wind turbine installed in a major North American urban city centre, and the first community-owned wind power project in Ontario. WindShare itself was officially launched in February 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was created by the non-profit Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative (TREC) which was incorporated in 1998. TREC continues to exist as a separate non-profit entity.
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.
Wind power is a form of renewable energy in Pakistan which makes up more than 6% of the total electricity production in the country. As of 2018, wind power capacity in Pakistan was 1,287 MW. The government is looking to increase the share of renewable energy and plans to add around 3.5 GW of wind energy capacity by 2018.
Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the wind. For more than two millennia wind-powered machines have ground grain and pumped water. Wind power was widely available and not confined to the banks of fast-flowing streams, or later, requiring sources of fuel. Wind-powered pumps drained the polders of the Netherlands, and in arid regions such as the American mid-west or the Australian outback, wind pumps provided water for livestock and steam engines.
The Altamont Pass wind farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Northern California. It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States. The first wind turbines were placed on the Altamont in the early 1980s by Fayette Manufacturing Corporation on land owned by cattle rancher Joe Jess. The wind farm is composed of 4930 relatively small wind turbines of various types, making it at one time the largest wind farm in the world in terms of capacity. Altamont Pass is still one of the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world, with a capacity of 576 megawatts (MW), producing about 125 MW on average and 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) yearly. They were installed after the 1970s energy crisis in response to favorable tax policies for investors.
Wind power has a history in Canada dating back many decades, particularly on prairie farms. As of December 2019, wind power generating capacity was 13,413 megawatts (MW), providing about 6% of Canada's electricity demand. The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has outlined a future strategy for wind energy that would reach a capacity of 55 GW by 2025, meeting 20% of the country's energy needs.
Wind power in Scotland is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology, with 9,347 MW of installed wind power capacity as of June 2020. This included 8,366 MW from onshore wind in Scotland and 981 MW of offshore wind generators.
Wind power in Ohio has a long history, and as of 2016, Ohio had 545 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale wind power installations installed, responsible for 1.1% of in-state electricity generated. Over 1000 MW more were under construction or pending approval. Some installations have become tourist attractions. There has been a sudden increase in generating capacity, as total wind power capacity in the state was just 9.7 MW in 2010. By 2019, there were 738 MW of capacity, which generated 1.71% of Ohio's electricity.
Steel Winds is a wind energy project located on the coast of Lake Erie in Lackawanna, New York, just south of the City of Buffalo in Erie County. Its first phase was operational in 2007 and the second phase came online in 2012, for a combined production capacity of 35 MW. The unique project was built on part of the brownfield of a former Bethlehem Steel plant. By using much of the existing infrastructure of roads and transmission lines, it could reduce project costs. It is one of the largest urban wind farms in the world and uses turbines manufactured in Iowa.
The Madison Wind Farm is a power generation plant located in the town of Madison, New York. Constructed in 1999-2000, it was the first wind farm completed in New York state and the first merchant wind farm in the country. The power plant consists of seven Vestas V66-1.65 MW wind turbines, generating enough energy to power up to 10,000 homes. The Vestas V66-1.65 MW wind turbines have a hub height of 67m and a 66m rotor diameter totally 100m to the top of the rotor
A wind turbine is a device that converts the wind's kinetic energy into electrical energy.
Lalamilo Wells is a wind farm on the island of Hawaii. It is located within the ahupuaʻa called Lalamilo, between the coastal area known as Puako, Hawaii, and the inland towns of Waimea and Waikoloa Village, Hawaii. It was commissioned in 1985 with 39 17.5 kW Jacobs wind turbines and 81 20 kW Jacobs wind turbines, yielding a total capacity of 2.3 MW.
Wind power in New Jersey is in the early stages of development. There are various projects underway to create windfarms along coastal areas in the state on land, on piers, and on the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern Jersey Shore. Legislation has been enacted to support the industry through economic incentives and to permit wind turbines on existing piers. Several proposals have been made to expand the use of wind-generated power and offshore wind power.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to wind energy:
Wind power in Rhode Island is in the early stages of development. There are several small scale wind turbine projects in the state. As of December 2013 there were 11 turbines at 10 sites in the state. In 2014, Rhode Island had 9 MW of installed wind power capacity, which quickly rose to 75 MW in 2019.
The Flat Ridge Wind Farm is an electricity generating wind facility spanning the intersection of Barber, Harper and Kingman County in the U.S. state of Kansas, located about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of the city of Wichita. It was constructed in two phases and has a total generating capacity of 570.4 megawatts (MW), becoming the largest such facility in the state upon its completion in 2012.
The Sustainable Development Reserve of Ponta do Tubarão in Brazil was created in 2003. It was created with an aim of protecting the environment from different attempts to develop the area into a tourist resort or simple shrimp hatcheries along the mangroves. The RDSEPT covers about 12,940 sq. ft. of the areas off the northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte in the Guamaré and Macau Municipalities. This area is considered a high-value biological region in Brazil, with only little artisanal fishing and collecting shellfish, small-scale agriculture, and animal farming. Since 2010 two wind turbine projects started operating in the area, known as Miassaba II and Alegria II. The documentation of land operations has been in the works for more than a decade, and inhabitants of the area are claiming that the windmills have created water scarcity as the ponds are now dry. Other issues to the area include the wall and line towers constructed to disrupt the hydrological connection between rivers and the ocean which inherently affects the fisherman and alters water sands. Inhabitants in the area say that noise and vibrations from the wind turbines have affected animals and birds in the area that have migrated elsewhere. The council from the reserve says that part of the Missaba was built inside turtle nesting areas. Fishermen who live in the area were said to have received compensation for their interruptions, but according to sources they haven't. This project is an interesting situation as wind turbines are seen as good for the environment, yet they are destroying the area and making it inhabitable for most organisms in Ponta do Tubarão in Brazil.
