What is Wind Farming?

Wind farming is not agricultural farming - where crops like corn, wheat and soybeans are grown and harvested. 

Wind farming is the precise, strategic placement of modernized windmills in rural and coastal land areas that generate electricity from the power of the wind.  They are commonly known as wind generators, but are also called wind power units, wind energy converters, wind towers and aerogenerators.

Hundreds of acres of land are needed to "plant" them because of their enormous size, which means farm and ranch land is the best setting for them.  You can have a small wind farm of 2 to 3 wind generators or a large farm consisting of 100 or more turbines.  Generally speaking, wind-farming refers to large scale wind farms capable of producing enough electricity to power at least 400 American households.

While it may be true that most wind farms look the same, seeing them in different countries gives them a little bit more interest and helps us understand that people and communities all over the world are harnessing the power of the wind for their energy needs.  Click here to see photographs of wind farms around the world.  Note : Slower photo loads on older PCs.

Large wind farms (100 or more generators) are also known as utility scale wind power plants, which are are built for on-land and offshore use.  The turbines that are built for off-shore projects tend to be larger (larger translates into more electricity being produced), than a regular utility scale turbine. They are placed in coastal areas because the wind generally blows stronger and harder on coastlines.  Plus, the huge parts can be transported more economically by ship than by land.

If you've never seen a wind generator up close, you're in for a surprise.  The massive tubular steel towers are over 200 feet tall (imagine a 20-story high-rise building) and weigh more than 70 tons (the same as a Southern Pacific diesel locomotive).  They are normally painted a light matte grey to deflect light and blend in with the clouds.  The blades, which are longer than an airplane wing, are made of fiberglass reinforced polyester.  A company headquartered in London called LM Fiberglass is the leading manufacturer of turbine blades with two plants located in the United States.  There are several wind turbine manufacturers and most them are European companies with the exception of one, General Electric.  GE is the second largest wind turbine manufacturer and it is headquartered in the U.S. 

When it comes to wind farming, many individuals and businesses work together to harvest one of our planet's most natural resources, the wind. It's absolutely, one-hundred percent free! It won't "dry-up," and there's plenty to go around. The commercial wind energy companies, also known as energy developers, function with a team of wind analysts, meterologists, geologists, and environmentalists (among others) to conduct studies of all aspects of a prospective wind site. The studies will include U.S. Fish & Wildlife consultations, environmental and wetland studies, noise and sound analysis, electrical transmission lines and most importantly, the determination of strong wind resources.

It can take over a year to get a prospective wind site ready for planting. As mentioned, many studies have to be conducted before the installation process begins. Permits, leases, easements and a pletheora of legal documents that lawyers love, have to be approved and signed. Roads have to be built that are sturdy enough to hold all the heavy construction equipment that will be brought to the jobsite. The soil must be analyzed and the proper foundation laid to hold the tubular steel tower and massive turbine. 

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of planning and engineering for a wind-energy company to design and place their wind turbines where they can work their magic and turn our most abundant natural resource into a viable business that supports our lifestyle. Building a large wind farm is not cheap, but the cost of importing oil is, in many ways, much, much higher.