Don’t be stupid about wind turbines! 🌀

Wind turbines don’t run all of the time.

Wind turbines have to be started by the electric power in the grid just like a car needs a battery and a starter to start. It takes energy to get the blades moving then they coast along with the wind once they’re moving.

Wind turbines like a car can be shut off when their is no market for their power, wind speed is too low or strong, or maintenance is required. They have both braking using the motors and physical brakes like a car. Just because it’s windy doesn’t mean that a wind turbine will be turning or generating electricity.

Like running a car engine, running a wind turbine puts wear on the bearings and other equipment like the blades – you only want to run it when necessary. Plus you have to have somewhere to dump the power – if you loose the grid connection the turbine must stop or the wires or turbine motor will burn up as electricity must be consumed as soon as its produced.