What is Wind Energy?

Wind energy is a source of renewable energy. It is clean and environmentally friendly and does not pollute our environment.

Wind energy is obtained from the wind. The kinetic energy of the wind is harvested through wind turbine blades to generate electricity.

The wind has driven people for centuries. In the past, it helped us to cross oceans, mill grain, and drain the land. Today it plays a key role in the transition towards environmentally and climate-friendly power supply

Wind turbines are often placed in a group of combinations to produce electricity on a large scale in windy sites known as wind farms or wind power plants.

Wind Energy Types

Wind energy can be classified into two types

• Onshore Wind Energy
• Offshore Wind Energy

Onshore Wind Energy

Onshore wind energy referred to wind turbines that are installed on the land surface also known as onshore wind farms.

Offshore Wind Energy

Offshore wind energy referred to wind turbines that are installed on the sea also known as offshore wind farms.

Wind Energy Conversion Factors

The amount of energy transferred from the wind to the wind turbines mainly depends upon three main factors

• Wind Speed
• Size of wind turbine blade
• Density of air

Advantages of Wind Energy

Wind energy has many advantages and benefits over conventional energy sources

• it is clean energy and does not emit any air pollution like fossil fuels.
• it is renewable energy and does not deplete any natural resource
• The wind is a free resource and is widely available all over the world
• Electricity generated from wind energy is cheap and economical
• Wind energy provides employment opportunities in rural areas
• Wind energy is safe and reliable
• Wind energy has minimum impact on the environment
• It contributes to the sustainable development

Challenges of Wind Energy

Wind energy has also some challenges like

• Wind turbines produce noise that disturbs the locals so that’s why they are installed far away from the communities
• Wind turbines also impact wildlife mostly birds but now advancements in technology and the adoption of the radar in windfarms significantly reduced birds fatalities
• The wind is not available all the time, so to reduce the gap, better forecasting methods are developed, and Hybrid energy systems are explored such as wind and Hydrogen system
• Wind turbine blades are non-recyclable, after their service, they are buried under the ground, so to avoid this waste, research is underway to develop recyclable blades.