Winds result from the heating of different parts of the Earth's surface, causing warm air to rise which then gets replaced by cooler air. This air movement is complicated on a local scale by hills, vegetation and expanses of water. Airflow is often turbulent with sites often experiencing fairly rapid changes in wind speed and direction. The wind speed also increases with the height above the ground. Wind turbines take into account these factors and are sited at strategic points.
Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical power.
This mechanical energy is converted into electricity. The electricity generated from wind turbines can either be used for power within a local community or be sold into the electricity grid. There are three basic physical laws governing the amount of energy available from the wind. The power generated by a wind turbine is proportional to the wind speed cubed, if the wind speed doubles then the power available increases by a factor of eight. Unfortunately, this means that there is very little power in the wind at low speeds.