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The power of wind

Have you ever felt the wind in your face and thought 'It's time to fly my kite'? Well if you can fly your kite then probably up the road somewhere there is a windmill or wind turbine rotating around and gathering power from the wind.

The world has never been short of wind. Wind is a natural process caused by the sun unevenly heating the surface of the earth. When air is heated it moves upwards, cooler air moves into the space left below the rising warmer air and wind is formed.

Albany wind farm

Wind energy is called a renewable energy source because it is constantly replenished and doesn’t run out. Other renewable energy sources include solar, water and landfill gas. Day after day the sun shines, the wind blows, the rivers flow and landfill sites release gas.

Wind turbines are used to convert wind energy into electrical energy or electricity. Wind turbines look like giant airplane propellers on a stick. The wind spins the blades which turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity.

Examples of wind farms in Western Australia you might have seen are located in Albany, Walkaway (Geraldton), Hopetoun and Bremer Bay.

The 12 wind turbines that make up the Albany Wind Farm each have three 35m long blades sitting on top of a massive 65m tower. The wind farm produces enough electricity to supply 50% of Albany’s annual electricity requirements or 15,000 homes.

You can test the power of the wind when you make your own mini wind turbine. Click here to see the instructions on how to make your own mini wind turbine.