Wind Science • Page 4 of 5 • Wind Power For Every Home

“Shadow Flicker” Flicked into Touch?

Last week, a court ruled that “shadow flicker” from a wind turbine would be of such a nuisance that, along with the degradation of the scenery, it would constitute grounds to support an injunction to have the wind turbine installation stopped for good.Nevada Supreme Court so ruled in respect of a 75 foot wind turbine… Read the rest

Virtual Wind Map USA – Real Time

Since time immemorial poets, writers, and philosophers have posed the question “Who has seen the wind?”. While the effects of the wind can clearly be seen, on clouds, smoke, and wind farm turbine blades, the pure wind itself is much more elusive to capture visually. However, two people described as “technology artists” have produced a stunning… Read the rest

Wind Turbine Innovations

The saying “when the going gets tough, the tough get going!” is one the can be applied with gusto to the wind turbine industry. The current recession has seen re-doubled efforts to improve designs and squeeze out more for less across turbine manufacturers. These include complete wind turbine redesigns as well as the smaller evolutionary steps… Read the rest

Focus on 3Tier

3TIER are an international company that uses weather science to help clients manage the risk of weather-driven variability. It’s not just data, it’s practical and actionable intelligence. The company started in 1999 with the philosophy that their clients’ financial success will propagate a sustainable future powered by renewable energy. They boast a world-class team of atmospheric… Read the rest

Using Trees to Estimate Average Wind Speed: The Griggs-Putnam Index of Plant Deformity

If you have an area that you think may be suitable for the establishment of a wind turbine, but have no historical data on average wind velocities, arboreal help may be at hand! Just for reference, we all remember from school the (rather quaint) Beaufort scale of wind speed. The following chart gives Beaufort scale type… Read the rest

Innovative Wind Turbine Designs Part II

Continuing our look at non-conventional wind turbines, here is another interesting design. The idea behind this wind turbine was to home in on simplicity: Produce an off-shore turbine that has the bare necessities to operate, and removing all components that do contribute directly to power generation.
This obviously has a welcoming effect on cost to produce.… Read the rest

Alternative Wind Turbine Designs (part 1)

While the most common commercial wind turbine is the “horizontal-spindled three bladed propeller” design, here is a round-up of some of the other types of turbine. Some aesthetically pleasing to the eye if not (yet) top of the efficiency chart in harnessing wind power! Laddermill
Researchers at Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands are building… Read the rest

Wind Power History – Charles Brush

August 27, by Colin Houghton How long ago was the world’s first successful wind-powered generator built? 30 years? 50 years? 100 years? Nope. Over 110 years ago, in 1890!
In the basement laboratory of his mansion in Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America, Charles Brush worked on plans that would produce the world’s first automatically operated… Read the rest

What Is Inside A Wind Turbine?

‘ What Is Inside An Industrial Wind Turbine ‘ An overview of the layout of utility-class wind turbine generators – where are the major components, what do they do, and what differences can be found between models and size ranges. The content of this video shows and explains the set up starting with the tower, tower… Read the rest

Wind Turbines Glossary

A complete Wind Turbine Glossary listing all major parts and components of an industrial wind turbine. Anemometer: Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller. Blades: Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to “lift” and rotate. Brake: A disc brake… Read the rest