Wind Power

Wind power is the process of converting wind energy into electrical energy. There are several devices are used inorder to generate electricity with the help of wind , such as using wind mills for mechanical power, wind turbines to generate  electricity, wind pumps for pumping water or sails or drainage to propel ships. At the end of the 2009, the global contribution of power generation from the wind power or energy is about 159.2 gigawatts. By June 2010, the capacity has increased to 175 gigawatts or GW.

People first used wind power to push sailboats. Sails have been used for thousands of years. It is possible that windmills were used almost 4,000 years ago to pump water. Historians do know that around A.D. 600, the Persians used windmills.  People used the windmills in order to grind flour. About 500 years later, Europeans began using windmills. They also used windmills to grind grain. In the late 1800s, electric lights and machines became available. People without electric service soon used wind machines to make electricity for lights and radios. In 1888, Charles F. Brush was the first person to use a large wind turbine to make electricity. His wind turbine made enough electricity for about 10 homes. In 1931, Russia built the first commercial power plant that used a wind turbine to make electricity. The Russian machine made 100 kilowatts of electricity. By 1941, a Vermont company had made a 1,250-kilowatt wind turbine. Laid end to end, the two blades measured 175 feet (53 meters). The turbine worked until 1945, when one of the blades broke off. People continued to experiment with wind power, but it was not widely used after World War II (1939-1945). Instead, people used more fossil fuels, such as oil and coal. Fossil fuels were cheaper and more reliable than wind power.

Questionnaire:

• What is wind power? Explain.