How does a windmill make electricity?
Wind generator blades are modeled after airplane wings. They’re designed so that they rotate because of a pressure differential, caused by air moving over the surface of the blade. The blades cause a rotor to turn, which then drives an electrical generator. The windmills installed at Pacific Hydro’s wind farms are ‘smart machines’ – able to operate without intervention. Each windmill uses its own internal computer system to monitor the direction and speed of the wind, with electricity production commencing automatically at wind speeds above 14km/h. The amount of electricity produced continues to increase with the wind speed until the wind generators reach their maximum or ‘rated’ capacity at winds of around 55km/h. With blades rotating slowly at 17 revolutions per minute, the wind generators continue to operate at their maximum output until the wind speed reaches 90km/h, at which point the windmills automatically shut down and turn out of the wind to avoid being damaged. However, winds
