The noise made by rotating wind machine blades can be annoying to nearby neighbors. People have complained about aesthetics of and avian mortality from wind machines. The wind turns the blades of a windmill-like machine. The rotating blades turn the shaft to which they are attached. The turning shaft typically can either power a pump or turn a generator which produces electricity.
Most wind machines have vertical blades attached to a horizontal shaft.
This shaft transmits power through a series of gears which provide power to a water pump or electric generator. However, the Darrieus wind machine has two, three, or four long curved blades on a vertical shaft. It resembles a giant eggbeater in shape. The Darrieus machine provides ease of maintenance as the operating gears and controls are located close to the ground. The amount of energy produced by a wind machine depends upon the wind speed and the size of the blades in the machine.