Alt energy: wind

Wind energy is derived from solar energy. The wind occurs due to the temperature difference: some piece of land warms up better, and some worse. The heated air rises up, and the cold air descends. In addition, the air itself tends to homogeneity - if somewhere there is “heterogeneity”, for example, warm air has risen up, the wind begins to blow from an area with colder and “heavier” air.

Several types of wind catchers are used on Earth: sails, windmills and wind turbines. A sail and a windmill uses wind energy to perform some kind of mechanical work: moving in space or rotating a millstone, wheel or saw. A wind generator converts the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity.

Wind turbines are used in many countries around the world. For example, Denmark is supplied with almost 50% of its electricity from wind farms. In Russia, wind farms provide about 30% of the energy. The largest wind farms in Russia are located in Crimea: Donuzlavskaya wind farm (total capacity 18.7 MW), Ostaninskaya wind farm (Vodenergoremnaladka) (26 MW), Tarkhankutskaya wind farm (15.9 MW) and East Crimean wind farm. In total, they have 522 wind turbines with a capacity of 59 MW.

Small wind power includes installations with a capacity of less than 100 kW. Installations with a capacity of less than 1 kW are referred to as micro-wind energy. They are used on yachts, agricultural farms for water supply, etc. Some modern household UPSs have a DC power connection module specifically for working with solar panels or wind turbines. Thus, the wind turbine can be part of the home power system, reducing the energy consumption from the mains.