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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Wind Energy

Wind turbine

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

/ˈwɪnd ˌtɜːrbaɪn/nounCore term

In energy & renewables, wind turbine means: A tall machine with large blades that turn in the wind and drive a generator to produce electricity. Modern turbines often stand on towers more than 100 metres high.

In Turkish: rüzgar türbini

How it is used

Used by developers, engineers and technicians. A turbine is erected or installed, rated at a given power, maintained and later repowered (replaced with a newer model). Its main parts are the tower, nacelle, rotor, blades and generator.

Example sentences

  1. The new wind turbines are rated at 6 MW each, almost twice the size of the old ones.

  2. Technicians climb each wind turbine twice a year for routine maintenance.

Common collocations

  • install a wind turbine
  • turbine tower
  • turbine manufacturer
  • wind turbine generator
  • repower turbines
  • wind farmA group of wind turbines built in the same area and connected together, feeding their electricity into the grid through a shared substation.
  • rotor bladeOne of the long, curved arms, usually three, fixed to the hub of a wind turbine. Its shape lets the wind turn the rotor, which drives the generator.
  • nacelleThe large housing on top of a wind turbine tower that contains the main machinery, such as the gearbox, generator, shaft and control systems.
  • cut-in speedThe lowest wind speed at which a wind turbine starts to produce usable electricity, typically about 3 metres per second for modern machines.
  • offshore windWind power produced by turbines built at sea, either fixed to the seabed or on floating platforms, where winds are stronger and steadier than on land.

More terms: Wind Energy

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