The abundant availability and low environmental impact of wind could provide a sustainable and renewable energy resource to replace fossil fuels.
Image Credit: Vladimka production/Shutterstock.com
What is Wind Energy?
Uneven heating of the Earth’s surface from the sun, coupled with the rotation and shape of the land, creates differences in air pressure. Air moves down the pressure gradient, creating wind, which, with its kinetic energy, drives wind turbines.
Wind passes over the curved surface of the turbine blade, generating lift and forcing the rotor to spin. The kinetic energy of the rotation drives a generator, inside which magnets rotate around wire coils, creating a flow of electrons. This is electricity.
What Makes a Wind Energy System?
Wind energy systems, known as wind turbines, comprise several parts working in unison.
Wind turbines
Wind turbines are the blades of the wind energy system. There are two broad categories of wind turbines.
The most common design is horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) with long blades on a tall tower to access stronger winds. Some HAWTs can employ systems that alter blade angles to maximize wind capture.1
Alternatively, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have a vertical rotor axis on a tower. While VAWTs are less sensitive to wind direction, hence less efficient, VAWTs perform better in more turbulent environments and are more commonly used in urban settings.1
Turbine blade design focuses on optimizing airfoil shape and utilizing lightweight composite materials to ensure the rotor attached to the blades continues to spin despite changes in wind speed. These design methods aim to achieve high lift-to-drag ratios to minimize energy loss. 2,3
Gearbox
Some wind energy systems can employ a gearbox to increase the rotational speed of the rotor in high wind speeds required by the generator. 2,3
Technological innovations
Once electricity is generated, specialist devices adjust the electrical output to meet the power requirements of the national grid. These devices also implement maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to continuously adjust turbine parameters according to the fluctuating wind speed for optimal performance. 2,3
Factors Affecting Efficiency and Output
Several factors influence a wind energy conversion system's overall efficiency and power output.
Wind speed and air density
The amount of wind power depends on how fast it blows. Wind power grows with the cube of wind speed, meaning that if the wind speed doubles, the power generated increases eight times. Air density, which depends on altitude and temperature, also affects kinetic availability.
Turbine placement and layout
Placement of multiple wind energy systems to create a wind farm is crucial to maximizing the electricity output. Adequate spacing between turbines ensures that each turbine operates in a smooth airflow, reducing areas of slowed and turbulent wind speeds. Hilltop and offshore locations offer optimal performance.4
Technological innovations
Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven maintenance can be used to predict components of the turbine that require attention before they break down. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) uses specialised laser sensors to help the turbine automatically adjust its position to face the wind to increase efficiency and reliability.4
What is the Future For the Wind Sector?
The wind energy sector has experienced rapid technological progress and market expansion.
Scaling up and floating wind turbines
In recent years, wind turbines have grown larger, with bigger rotor diameters capturing more energy. The development of floating turbines has expanded the potential for offshore wind farms in deep-water areas, overcoming limitations of fixed-bottom designs where turbines are anchored to the seabed in shallower waters.
Advanced materials and manufacturing
Advancements in materials science are transforming wind turbine components. Innovations in lightweight alloys and polymer matrix composites improve blade durability and reduce weight. Using sustainable materials and recycling efforts minimizes the environmental impact of wind energy system development.2,4
Enhanced Control and Grid Integration
Integrating wind power into decentralized, digital grids necessitates cutting-edge control strategies. AI and real-time monitoring innovations enhance performance and reliability, enabling smarter turbines to effectively collaborate with energy storage and other renewables, ensuring a stable electricity supply.2,3
As wind farms become more common, advancements in control methods are required to keep the modern digital electricity grids running efficiently. Innovations in AI and real-time monitoring enhance performance and reliability, enabling smarter turbines to effectively collaborate with energy storage and other renewables, ensuring a stable electricity supply.2,3
Energy Storage and Hybrid Systems
Consistent electricity production from wind farms can be limited since there is such variability in wind speeds and air density. Integrating wind energy systems with energy storage solutions like batteries and combining them with solar or other renewable energy systems can provide a steadier power output, boosting the reliability of renewable energy systems.2,3
Policy and investment trends
Government policies and international agreements targeting carbon emissions fuel investments in wind energy. Subsidies and beneficial regulations promote the expansion of onshore and offshore farms, while the rising demand for clean electricity drives large-scale projects that lower costs through economies of scale.4
Research directions and theoretical advances
Researchers are revisiting classical limits like Betz’s law, which sets the maximum efficiency for wind turbines.
A 2022 study suggests that, under ideal conditions, higher energy conversion rates could be achieved than previously thought. These new theoretical insights could lead to innovative turbine designs and improved ways to optimize performance, providing exciting new possibilities for wind energy technology.
The Realities of Wind Energy
Wind energy combines physics and engineering, transforming airflow into a reliable power source.
While challenges like wind variability and grid integration persist, innovations in floating turbines, storage, and AI-driven systems pave the way for a wind-dominated energy future.
With supportive political policies and falling costs, wind power is set to supply over 30% of global electricity by 2035, underscoring its vital role in achieving net-zero emissions.
Download this article in a PDF format
References and Further Reading
- Wagner, H.-J. (2020). Introduction to wind energy systems. EPJ Web of Conferences. DOI:10.1051/epjconf/202024600004. https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/abs/2020/22/epjconf_lnes2020_00004/epjconf_lnes2020_00004.html
- Chaudhuri, A. et al. (2022). Energy Conversion Strategies for Wind Energy System: Electrical, Mechanical and Material Aspects. Materials, 15(3), 1232. DOI:10.3390/ma15031232. https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/3/1232
- Ghaffarzadeh, H. (2020). Review of Control Techniques for Wind Energy Systems. Energies, 13(24), 6666. DOI:10.3390/en13246666. https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/24/6666
- Abdelateef Mostafa, M. et al. (2023). Recent Trends in Wind Energy Conversion System with Grid Integration Based on Soft Computing Methods: Comprehensive Review, Comparisons and Insights. Arch Computat Methods Eng 30, 1439–1478. DOI:10.1007/s11831-022-09842-4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11831-022-09842-4
- Pellegri, A. (2021). The complementary Betz Theory. ResearchGate. DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2201.00181. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357552956_The_complementary_Betz_Theory
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.