THE EOLIC ENERGY

Wind energy is a renewable energy source that uses the power of the wind to
generate electricity. The main means of obtaining it are wind turbines, “windmills”
of variable size that transform the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical
energy with their blades. Wind energy can be obtained by installing wind turbines
both on land and on the sea floor.

Take a look at our pages and you will be able to learn information about wind
energy, its advantages and disadvantages, how wind turbines work and news and
curiosities about the world of wind energy.

Wind energy is the energy obtained from the wind , that is, the kinetic energy
generated by the effect of air currents, and which is converted into other useful
forms of energy for human activities. The term "aeolic" comes from the Latin
aeolicus , that is, "belonging or relating to Aeolus ," god of the winds in Greek
mythology .
Currently, wind energy is mainly used to produce electricity through wind turbines
connected to large electrical energy distribution networks. Wind farms built on land
are an increasingly cheaper and competitive source of energy, and even cheaper
in many regions than other conventional energy sources. Small wind installations
can, for example, provide electricity in remote and isolated regions that do not have
access to the electrical grid, as can solar photovoltaics . Distribution power
companies increasingly purchase the surplus electricity produced by small
domestic wind installations. The rise of wind energy has also led to the planning
and construction of offshore wind farms—often known as offshore wind farms by
their name in English—, located near the coasts. Wind energy is more stable and
stronger at sea than on land, and offshore wind farms have less visual impact, but
their construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher.
At the end of 2014, global installed wind energy capacity amounted to 370 GW ,
generating around 5% of global electricity consumption. Denmark generates more
than 25% of its electricity through wind energy, and more than 80 countries around
the world increasingly use it to provide electricity in their distribution networks,
increasing their capacity annually at rates above 20 %. In Spain, wind energy
produced 20.3% of the peninsula's electricity consumption in 2014, becoming the
second technology with the greatest contribution to demand coverage, very close
to nuclear energy with 22.0%.
Wind energy is an abundant, renewable and clean resource that helps reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuel-based energy sources. The
environmental impact of this type of energy is also generally less problematic than
that of other energy sources.
Wind energy is quite stable and predictable on an annual scale, although it
presents significant variations on smaller time scales. As the proportion of wind
energy produced in a certain region or country increases, it is essential to establish
a series of improvements in the local electrical network. 9 10 Various energy control
techniques, such as increased energy storage capacity, a wide geographical
distribution of wind turbines, the availability of backup energy sources, the
possibility of exporting or importing energy to neighboring regions or the reduction
of demand when wind production is lower, can help greatly mitigate these
problems. In addition, wind production forecasts are extremely important, allowing
electrical grid managers to be prepared and anticipate the foreseeable variations in
wind production that may occur in the short term.
Wind energy is the energy we obtain thanks to the wind. This resource is currently
used to generate electrical energy, but previously it was used in navigation, to
grind grain and to draw water from wells.

How does it work?

Wind energy, currently, is used to transform wind into electricity. This is thanks to
wind turbines, large windmills between 40 and 50 meters high and with propellers
up to 23 meters in diameter.
The force of the wind makes the wind turbine propeller move, which, thanks to the
rotor of a generator, converts this force into electrical energy. On its back, a
weather vane guides it to know where the wind is coming from. These large
machines are grouped in so-called wind farms.

Mechanism of an autogenerator

In order for wind turbines to operate, they must receive a wind of at least 15km/h.
Wind turbines are usually located on land, although in Northern countries there are
also wind turbines at sea. The latter are called offshore wind turbines.