The Power of the Wind

Wind can keep your kite afloat, create massive waves and even bend trees in half, but did you know that the wind can also provide power to millions of homes?

Wind energy is captured through tall machines called wind turbines. These turbines can be built as tall as a 20 storey building, and have three huge HUGE blades that reach 60 meters in length (that’s as tall as ten giraffes!). The bigger the turbine, the more electricity it can create. While some turbines are so big that they can provide power for millions of homes, they can also be built so small that they can be set up on a roof, providing enough electricity for just one house.

So how do they capture the wind’s energy? When the wind blows, it will start to spin the blades which are attached to a long pole in the center. This pole is attached to a motor, and once the blades are spinning fast enough, the motor creates electricity. That electricity travels through a power line from the motor to the power grid underground and from there it’s transferred to many homes in the area.

When a lot of these wind turbines are placed close to together, it’s called a wind farm, and it can light up a lot of homes. These farms are usually found on the tops of windy hills, close to the shore, and on the wide open prairies.

We are blown away by the power of the wind, and there is a lot of it to go around. It is great for the planet because the turbines don’t need fuel to operate, so it doesn’t create any pollution. As for this form of renewable energy, we are big fans!

Check out other types of renewable energy!

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Sources:
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange//kids/solutions/technologies/wind.html
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/wind-energy/