Wind energy, or wind power, is created using a wind turbine, a device that channels the power of the wind to generate electricity. The wind blows the blades of the turbine, which are attached to a rotor.
Total annual U.S. electricity generation from wind energy increased from about 6 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2000 to about 434 billion kWh in 2022. In 2022, wind turbines were the source of about 10.3% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation.
A wind turbine turns wind energy into electricity using the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades, which work like an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases.
The amount of electricity generated by wind increased by 265 TWh in 2022 (up 14%), the second largest growth of all power generation technologies. Wind remains the leading non-hydro renewable technology, generating over 2 100
Wind energy is a form of renewable energy, typically powered by the movement of wind across enormous fan-shaped structures called wind turbines. Once built, these turbines create no climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, making this a "carbon-free" energy source that can provide electricity without making climate change worse.
This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation. Today, wind power is generated almost completely with wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid. In 2022, wind supplied over 2000 TWh of electricity, which was over 7% of world electricity: 58 and about 2% of world energy.
wind power, form of energy conversion in which turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be used for power. Together with solar power and hydroelectric power, wind power is one of the most widely utilized forms of renewable energy.
Wind power has grown rapidly since 2000, driven by R&D, supportive policies and falling costs. Global installed wind generation capacity – both onshore and offshore – has increased by a factor of 98 in the past two decades, jumping from 7.5 GW in 1997 to some 733 GW by 2018 according to IRENA''s data.
Wind turbines harness the wind—a clean, free, and widely available renewable energy source—to generate electric power. This page offers a text version of the interactive animation: How a Wind Turbine Works.
Wind power is a clean and renewable energy source. Wind turbines harness energy from the wind using mechanical power to spin a generator and create electricity. Not only is wind an abundant and inexhaustible resource, but it also provides electricity without burning any fuel or polluting the air.