Case Study

For a Case Study on the Snowtown Wind Farm, click here.

Wind turbines transform the energy of moving air into electrical energy.

Moving air applies a force to the blades on a turbine. The blades are tilted to the direction of the wind so that the force will make the turbine rotate. The turbine transfers energy to a generator where it is transformed into electricity (electrical energy).

The amount of electrical energy produced depends on many factors:

• Number of blades
• Tilt of the blades
• Length of the blades
• Shape of the blades
• Area of the blades
• Height of the tower
• The physical surroundings
• Wind speed

Photo: The 140 Megawatt Woolnorth Wind Farm in Tasmania. Up until April 2008, this was the biggest windfarm operating in the southern hemisphere. This title now belongs to the Lake Bonney Wind Farm (South Australia) at 239.5 Megawatts. Courtesy of roaring40s.com.au.