Winding Up

This article reviews today’s wind turbines that are a far cry from the windmills that once reached into the rural sky to pump water for irrigation. A single utility-scale turbine, built from European designs, can provide enough electricity to power more than a thousand homes when the wind is blowing. Wind power is increasingly viewed as an ecologically friendly energy source, without the carbon emissions of fossil fuels or the watershed wrecking force of hydropower. Wind power enthusiasts point out that wind is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the world. In the United States alone, the amount of installed wind power grew by 66 percent in 2001, according to the American Wind Energy Association in Washington. WTC’s two-bladed design makes the most of the lightness the downwind configuration can offer. Each blade is reinforced by a hydraulic piston running from the hub, and the root itself is attached to the rotor shaft by a hinged coupling. The pistons can reposition each blade independently over the course of a single rotor sweep.