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📘 How Wind Turbines Work

A modern wind-turbine blade is an airfoil, shaped more like an airplane wing than a flat sail. As moving air passes around its curved and twisted surfaces, pressure differences create lift. The blade is angled so part of that lift acts arou

4
lessons
~20 min
to learn
Adults
level
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What you’ll learn

  1. Wind becomes rotationExplain how blade airfoils and swept area turn moving air into rotor torque.Lift on shaped blades extracts part of the wind's kinetic energy as rotation.
  2. The nacelle and drivetrainIdentify the nacelle, shafts, gearbox, bearings, and direct-drive alternative.The drivetrain carries rotor torque and may increase speed before the generator.
  3. Pitch, yaw, and speedDescribe how pitch and yaw controls keep a turbine productive and aligned.Pitch manages blade force while yaw points the nacelle into changing wind.
  4. Power, grid, and limitsTrace electricity to the grid and distinguish protective stops from curtailment.Converters and transformers condition output; feathering and curtailment limit generation for safety or grid needs.

Questions this course answers

What aerodynamic effect primarily creates rotor torque?

Blade lift has a tangential component that produces torque around the hub.

What does blade pitch change?

Pitch changes the blade angle, affecting lift, torque, power, and protection.

What is the gearbox's main job in a geared turbine?

Gears trade low-speed, high-torque rotation for higher generator shaft speed.

What converts shaft rotation into electrical output?

Electromagnetic induction in the generator produces electrical voltage and current.

What does curtailment mean?

Curtailment limits generation for grid, safety, market, or plant-control reasons.

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