Wind Power Plants The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind corn, which is where the term "windmill" comes from

Wind Power And We gave Sulayman power over the wind—a month’s journey in the morning and a month in the afternoon . . . . (Surah Saba’: 12)

Jet Engines Even the way the wind was placed under the command of Prophet Sulayman. Thanks to this, he was able to travel great distances very quickly. In our time, we are able to travel very long distances in a short space of time by using supersonic jet planes. However, the jet engine was invented some 3,000 years after the reign of Prophet Sulayman, in the mid-1900s.

How it works: The Sun heats our atmosphere unevenly, so some patches become warmer than others. These warm patches of air rise, other air blows in to replace them. We can use the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity.

Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine

Wind Farm We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a "wind farm" and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It's only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.

Horizontal axis components

Wind Mill Turbine The wind has been a significant source of power for centuries. Early windmills in China and Southeast Asia lifted water into rice fields. In Europe the windmill developed into an enormous structure, nearly the size of a small sailing ship, developing power in the range of 25 hp and higher, for use in grain grinding, drainage and a multiple of small industrial tasks. The first windmills in North America and the Caribbean were of this type. In the late 19th century, water pumping windmills were manufactured by the thousands, and several million machines were operated by the end of this century. These were mostly lifting water for farm houses and livestock.

Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine Plants

Advantages Wind is free, wind farms need no fuel. Produces no waste or greenhouse gases. The land beneath can usually still be used for farming. Wind farms can be tourist attractions. A good method of supplying energy to remote areas.

Disadvantages The wind is not always predictable - some days have no wind. Suitable areas for wind farms are often near the coast, where land is expensive. Some people feel that covering the landscape with these towers is unsightly. Can kill birds - migrating flocks tend to like strong winds. However, this is rare, and we tend not to build wind farms on migratory routes anyway. Can affect television reception if you live nearby. Can be noisy. Wind generators have a reputation for making a constant, low, "swooshing" noise day and night, which can drive you nuts. Having said that, as aerodynamic designs have improved modern wind farms are much quieter. A lot quieter than, say, a fossil fuel power station; and wind farms tend not to be close to residential areas anyway. The small modern wind generators used on boats and caravans make hardly any sound at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mATu8i5l1A&feature=player_embedded