Mini Wind Farm Overview Wind is one of the cheapest renewable energy options in Western Australia and the State has an excellent wind resource. Worldwide, there is over 10,000 MW or more than 50,000 operating wind turbines and it is one of the fastest growing energy sources in the world in terms of installations. Yearly investment in wind energy now exceeds many billions of dollars worldwide and this is because the price of wind turbines has dropped dramatically over the last ten years and the technology is mature . A wind turbine is a machine that takes kinetic energy in the wind and converts it to electricity through the action of blades connected to a generator. A wind turbine usually has three or less blades and turns quickly, which is different to a wind mill which can have up to forty blades and turns more slowly to grind grain or pump water.
Wind turbines come in a number of different types.
The most common looks a bit like a big standard household pedestal fan, where the blades turn on an axis which is parallel to the ground. Such turbines turn to face the wind automatically. The most common size for wind farms, where turbines are grouped together for large scale electricity generation, is about 600 kilowatts. The actual size used depends on the power required, costs, environmental and social constraints. Western Power's use of wind turbines Since 1978, Western Power has played a leading role in Australia in harnessing the wind to produce electricity.