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Where Does Wind Come From? l Let's Experiment

Harnessing the Wind

We can harness the wind's energy using wind machines. The wind flows over the windmill blades mounted on a rotor causing it to lift or turn much like an airplane propeller. This effect is also called kinetic energy. The blades are connected to a driveshaft that turns a generator to make electricity. For utility-scale wind energy, large numbers of wind machines are built close together to form a wind farm.

Types of Wind Machines

There are two types of modern wind machines.

Horizontal-Axis Wind Machine The Horizontal-Axis Wind Machine stands as tall as a 20-story-building. They have three blades that span 200 feet across and are taller and wider so that they can capture more wind. These are the most common types of wind machines.
Vertical-Axis Wind Machine The second type is the Vertical-Axis Wind Machine. It stands about 100 feet tall and is only 50 feet wide. They have only two blades and look something like a giant spinning egg beater.