Wind turbines - Evolution, basic principles and conversion potential

Wind turbines are a very old form of wind energy. However, their operating principles were not established until the beginning of the 20th ^e century, and it was not until the 1970s and 2000s in particular that we saw the development of today's wind turbines, with a major evolution in their use worldwide, in their size and power, and in their design for land-based applications. We've gone from small, isolated machines for pumping water to large, multi-megawatt wind farms connected to the grid.

Technological and scientific advances in various fields of engineering, including aerodynamics, structures, materials, electrical engineering, meteorology and control, have improved the efficiency and reliability of these machines. Three-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbines have gradually come to dominate the market, and now account for almost the entire market. These advances have also led to a significant reduction in the cost per kilowatt-hour of wind power, resulting in steadily increasing installed capacity in Europe, America and Asia. Offshore developments have opened up new markets and given new impetus to the design of very high-power machines.

This article provides an overview of all aspects related to wind power, covering, but not exhaustively, the topics involved and their specific features. In particular, it describes the energy conversion potential of a wind turbine rotor.