Wind power turns moving air into useful energy, today mainly electricity. Understanding where wind comes from, how its energy is measured, and how suitable sites are identified helps explain why some locations produce far more electricity than others.
Wind power is the use of wind energy to perform useful work. Historically, people used wind to propel sails, turn windmills for grinding grain, and operate windpumps for lifting water. Modern wind power is used mostly to generate electricity with wind turbines.
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Wind-power equation
The power available in moving air is P=21ρAv3, where ρ is air density, A is the area through which air flows, and v is wind speed.
Wind-power density
The power available in the wind per unit area; it depends on air density and especially wind speed.
Weibull distribution
A statistical model commonly used to represent how often different wind speeds occur at a location.
Wind penetration
The fraction of total electricity generation supplied by wind.
How can wind and solar resources complement each other?
Their output patterns can differ across daily and seasonal cycles, helping balance supply, though they do not eliminate variability.
Quiz questions
What does a substation typically do for electricity collected from a wind farm?Answer: Uses transformers to raise the voltage for transmission.
How is a wind farm's capacity factor defined?Answer: Actual energy produced divided by the theoretical maximum for the period.
What is curtailment in wind power operations?Answer: Reducing or stopping generation to manage grid constraints.
What is the Betz limit for an ideal wind-energy machine?Answer: A theoretical maximum capture of about 59% of the wind's kinetic energy.
What describes the merit order effect of wind generation in an electricity market?Answer: Low-marginal-cost wind generation can lower electricity prices during generating hours.
Based on the Wikipedia article Wind power, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.