Shutting Off Wind Turbines

If you drive by a wind farm and see many wind turbines spinning, it is also common to find a few wind turbines not spinning, having been intentionally turned off by the engineers in order to manage a consistent energy grid. 

• Why do these wind turbines get turned off?

• How do these turbines get turned off? Why can’t they just be unplugged?
• How can the amount of time these are turned off be minimized?
• How does a wind turbine work?

Students could:

• Investigate why the energy companies need to “turn off” these turbines on windy days.
• Outline how the electric grid needs to match the amount of energy being used.
• Research why it's important for utility companies keep the electric grid consistent.
• Develop their own strategy for storing wind energy into another form of energy ready to be used when there is not any wind in the area. 

• PBS LearningMedia | How a Wind Turbine Works: Follow a class of students as they learn how a wind turbine produces power.
• US Department of Energy |How Does a Wind Turbine Work?: This article explains how a wind turbine converts wind energy to electrical energy.
• Open Energy Information | Map of Wind Farms: This shows all the documented wind turbines in the United States. It also gives information on each of them in terms of energy generation.
• Scientific American | Can Wind Power Be Stored?: This brings up a few different designs for storing wind energy, while talking about the pros and cons of each.