The technology of extracting energy from the wind has evolved dramatically over the last
few decades, and there have, up until now, been relatively few attempts to describe that
technology in a single textbook. The lack of such a text, together with a perceived need,
provided the impetus for writing this book.
The material in this text has evolved from course notes from Wind Energy Engineering,
a course which has been taught at the University of Massachusetts since the mid 1970s.
These notes were later substantially revised and expanded with the support of the US
Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
This book provides a description of the topics which are fundamental to understanding
the conversion of wind energy to electricity and its eventual use by society. These topics
span a wide range, from meteorology through many fields of engineering to economics and
environmental concerns. The book begins with an introduction which provides an overview
of the technology, and explains how it came to take the form it has today. The next chapter
describes the wind resource and how it relates to energy production. Chapter 3 discusses
aerodynamic principles and explains how the wind’s energy will cause a wind turbine’s
rotor to turn. Chapter 4 delves into the dynamic and mechanical aspects of the turbine in
more detail, and considers the relation of the rotor to the rest of the machine. Chapter 5
provides a sumtnary of the electrical aspects of wind energy conversion, particularly
regarding the actual generation and conversion of the electricity. Chapter 6 discusses the
design of wind turbines and the key issues involved. Chapter 7 examines wind turbine and
wind system control.