“Sometimes the wind has been our enemy out here. My thought was there is a lot of wind up there. If they could turn that into something good for this area, that was great. But it had to be good.”
– Vic Thomas, 82, Kansas farmer
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Rotor blades can swivel on the hub at the front so they meet the wind at the best angle, or pitch, for harvesting energy.
Brake
For safety reasons, during high wind or turbulence the brake is applied to stop the rotor blades from turning. The brake is also applied during routine maintenance.
The spinning rotors capture kinetic energy from the wind turning the central drive shaft. Although the outer edges of the rotor blades move very fast, the drive shaft turns quite slowly.
Inside the nacelle the gearbox converts the low-speed rotation of the drive shaft into high-speed rotation. (From about 16 rpm to about 1600 rpm.) Now fast enough to drive the generator efficiently.
The generatortakes kinetic energy from the spinning drive shaft and turns it into electrical energy. Running at maximum capacity, a typical 2MW turbine generator will produce 2 million watts of power at about 700 volts.
The anemometer and wind vane on the back of the nacelle provides measurements of the wind speed and direction.
Using measurements from the anemometer and wind vane the rotor blades and nacelle can be rotated by a yaw motor so it faces directly into the oncoming wind and capture the maximum amount of energy.
The electric current produced by the generator flows through a cable running down through the inside of the turbine tower.
Wind used to be a farmers’ nemeses.
Then it created power, and became a savior for land that doesn't always yield a bountiful harvest.
Kansas has seen more growth in the wind energy industry than any other state except Texas. On some days, wind generates between a third and half of the electricity to Kansas and surrounding states, creating thousands of jobs.
The tall turbines slicing through the skies above the plains now help support schools, libraries and fire departments in once economically depressed areas. Farmers whose cattle now graze beneath the bladed behemoths are benefitting from $15 million in payments to Kansas landowners just last year.
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