Key Stage 3 fact Sheet – wind power - RWE

wind power cont…
The first UK wind farm was built in Cornwall in
1991. Farr Wind Farm, near Inverness, is RWE
npower renewables’ most powerful renewable
energy project. It consists of 40 turbines. The
wind farm generates enough electricity to meet
the average annual needs of 54,000 homes
(more than half of all the homes across the
Scottish Highlands).
The UK’s first large-scale offshore wind farm,
North Hoyle, is located four to five miles off
the North Wales coast, and was developed
by RWE npower renewables in 2003.
How wind turbines work
– Modern wind turbines usually have three blades.
– The wind turns the blades, which drive an
electrical generator.
– A generator is a machine that contains coils of
wire and strong magnets.
– When the wire coils are spun quickly inside the
magnets, they generate electricity.
– All electricity is produced in this way, with just
different sources of energy being used to drive
the generator.
Advantages
– Wind power does not cause climate
change or pollution.
– Wind is a renewable resource – as long
as the sun shines and the wind blows it
will never run out.
– Wind energy is a cheap way to produce
renewable energy.
– The land underneath wind turbines can
still be used for farming.
– A small difference in the wind speed makes a
big difference to the power output of a wind
turbine (when the wind speed doubles, the
power in the wind is multiplied by eight).
– It gets windier the higher up you go, which is
why wind turbines are built on such tall towers.
– The amount of power a wind turbine produces
also depends on the size of the blade, which is
why wind turbine blades are so long.
– To generate the most energy, wind turbines
should be located where the wind speed is
highest. Some of the best places for wind
farms are, therefore, out at sea or by the sea,
at the tops of rounded hills and between gaps
in mountains.
The tips of the blades of a typical wind
turbine move at approximately 140mph!
Disadvantages
– The speed of the wind is affected by many
different factors such as weather, time
of day and landscape. This makes it an
intermittent source of energy, which cannot
be used to generate electricity on demand.
– Wind turbines can be seen from long
distances, and some people do not like the
way they look.