Transcript Wind power

We are learning about wind power
Facts about wind turbines
• Wind mills have been in use since 2000 B.C.
and were first developed in China and Persia.
• A single wind turbine can power 500 homes.
• Most wind turbines (95%) are installed on
private land.
• American wind power is a $10 billion a year
industry.
These are some pictures of wind
turbines
How do wind turbines work ?
So how do wind turbines make electricity?
Simply stated, a wind turbine works the
opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity
to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use
wind to make electricity. The wind turns the
blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to
a generator and makes electricity.
What are wind turbines made of ?
• A Typical Wind Turbine. Towers are mostly
cylindrical, made of steel, painted light grey,
and from 25 to 75 metres in height. Wind
turbines can have from one to three rotor
blades, made of fibreglass-reinforced
polyester or wood-epoxy. The blades are
usually between 30 and 80 metres in
diameter.
We are also learning about solar
panels
o Solar energy is
obtained from
sunlight.
o Solar cells convert
light energy into
electricity.
o Large numbers of
solar cells are put
together to create
solar panels.
o These are some pictures
of solar panels
How do solar panels work
 Simply put, a solar panel
works by allowing photons,
or particles of light, to
knock electrons free from
atoms, generating a flow of
electricity. Solar panels
actually comprise many,
smaller units called
photovoltaic cells.
(Photovoltaic simply means
they convert sunlight into
electricity.) Many cells
linked together make up a
solar panel.
 This is a picture of how solar
panels work
The last thing we are going to talk
about is the sun
The Sun is a star found at the center of the
Solar System.
Light from the Sun reaches Earth in around 8
minutes.
It makes up around 99.86% of the Solar
System’s mass.
•Light from the Sun reaches Earth in around 8
minutes
These are pictures of the sun
By Ellie and Melissa