Wind Energy

The sun’s energy creates wind, as air pressure changes between ocean and land, or between the daylight side of Earth and night. Wind turbines are getting bigger and higher, and are placed on mountain tops or on the coast, because this is where stronger, more consistent wind can be found.

Blowing air can provide a very reliable source of mechanical energy.

To make electricity, the shaft of the turbine connects to an electrical generator. The generator converts the mechanical energy of the spinning turbine shaft into electricity.

Generators are small and light enough that they can be housed under an aerodynamically designed cover at the top of the pole or tower, called a nacelle. Wires running down the tower carry electricity to the grid, batteries or other appliances.

Wind farms consist of rows of towers, as high as 80 to 100 metres, equipped with giant wind turbines for producing electricity. New Brunswick’s first wind farm, located at Kent Hills, south of Salisbury, has 32 turbines producing a total of 96 megawatts of energy capacity. For more information, see their website.

Electricity from wind energy is one of the fastest growing methods of electrical generation in the world. In 2008, wind power grew by 29 percent worldwide, according the Renewables Global Status Report.
Some Facts:

• As the air spins the blades of a wind turbine, this mechanical energy is converted into electricity.
• Wind turbines should be placed in locations where there are favourable weather patterns. In order to get a general idea of the wind conditions in your area of New Brunswick, visit the Government of NB website on wind.
• Small turbines can be used in home settings (100 W to 10 kW), or small businesses, and can supply electricity to the home only, or be net metered.
• Often large turbines are installed in “wind farms” or “wind power plants.” Wind farms can generate electricity that could be used locally or regionally.
• In New Brunswick, the electricity generated from these wind farms is fed directly into the electricity grid.
• New Brunswick has the potential to produce over 40,000 Megawatts of energy from wind – that is ten times more than the total current capacity of NB Power.
• Using wind energy reduces the environmental impact of generating electricity from fossil fuels or nuclear power because it requires no fuel and does not produce pollution or greenhouse gases.