Wind turbine

Wind turbines are used to generate electricity from the kinetic power of the wind. Historical they were more frequently used as a mechanical device to turn machinery. There are two main kinds of wind generators, those with a vertical axis, and those with a horizontal axis. Wind turbines can be used to generate large amounts of electricity in wind farms both onshore and offshore.

A wind turbine is a popular name for a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electrical power. Technically there is no turbine used in the design but the term appears to have migrated from parallel hydroelectric technology. The correct description for this type of machine would beaerofoil-powered generator.

The result of over a millennium of windmill development and modern engineering, today's wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of vertical and horizontal axis types. The smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging for auxiliary power for boats or caravans or to power traffic warning signs. Slightly larger turbines can be used for making contributions to a domestic power supply while selling unused power back to the utility supplier via the electrical grid. Arrays of large turbines, known as wind farms, are becoming an increasingly important source of renewable energy and are used by many countries as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.