What is wind energy?
It is the energy produced by wind turbines or aerogenerators thanks to the force of the wind:
Turbines are structures capable of converting the wind’s kinetic energy into electrical energy
Which are the components of a wind turbine?
Wind turbines are composed of:
Tower: a structure that supports the nacelle and the blades. Average height 80-115 m
Rotor: is the part of the wind turbine consisting of a hub to which the blades are fixed. It has an average diameter of 90-150 m
Blades: similar to aircraft wings, they collect the wind and transform the kinetic energy into a rotary motion with a rotation speed between 10 rpm and 25 rpm
Nacelle: part of the wind turbine located above the tower where the main components that transform the kinetic energy of the rotor into electricity reside
How does a wind turbine generate energy?
When the wind blows it activates the blades, whose movement triggers the rotation of the rotor.
Let’s take a closer look
The rotor turns and the turbine begins to produce electricity when the wind reaches the cut-in speed of above 10 km/h.
The pitch control system sets the angle of the blades on their axis
and positions them according to the wind, optimizing system performance.
The nacelle is the heart of the wind turbine, and it contains:
Main shaft: activated by the rotor, it is connected to a speed multiplier that drives the generator
Gearbox: increases the rotor's rotation speed to that necessary for the generator to operate.
Generator: an electric machine that transforms the rotation of the rotor (whose speed is multiplied by the gearbox) into electrical energy.
Anemometer: measures wind speed and direction to control the turbines and align them towards the wind for best possible performance.
Yaw system: orientates the nacelle,
making it also move on the vertical axis according to the direction of the wind, making sure that the rotor always sees a frontal wind.
Braking system
To further increase safety, there are two systems for stopping the blades:
aerodynamic brake system: activated by rotating the blades around their axis,
it is used to control the power of the wind turbine, as an emergency brake in case of excessive wind speed
mechanical brake system: it is used to complete the stopping of the rotor and as an emergency brake in addition to the aerodynamic brake
How do we transform energy?
Afterwards, the energy is transferred through a cable inside the tower to a transformer that transforms the voltage from low to medium.
A larger transformer then collects the energy of all the turbines of the plant
and transforms the voltage from medium to high and then delivers the energy into the grid.
Now we are ready to distribute energy
The transformer is connected to the high-voltage transmission grid to minimize losses.
Thanks to the transformer cabins, the voltage is lowered
and the energy is fed into the distribution network that will power homes and businesses.