Wind Turbine Output
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What determines the power of a wind turbine?
Wind turbines generate electricity through magnetic induction. The blades turn a rotor lined with magnets through copper coils, thus generating voltage. The question is WHAT determines the power output. If the wind is constant, is it the strength of the magnets? Or the length of the copper wire in the coils? Any way a lay-person can figure this out and come up with reasonable voltages expected?
Just as with any other generator, electrical power is proportional to shaft torque and speed. A wind turbine generator is designed to operate in a certain speed and torque range. The design of the turbine and pitching of the blade angle keep it operating in this range. It’s actually wind speed that forces the control of torque/speed up to a certain maximum level, so yes, electrical output is directly coupled to wind speed and energy capture of the wind.
The generators in wind turbines do generaly require some amount of excitation current to regulate power output. This is really what allows wind turbines to operate at different power outputs and not a single fixed rating.
New Wind Turbine FloDesign
