0191 378 6100

Wind Power

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Banks Renewables is supporting the UK’s transition to net zero through our onshore wind projects – we currently operate 11 onshore wind farms and have secured planning permission for a further 307MW of renewable electricity generation, plus we have 580MW in the planning system.

How do onshore wind farms and wind turbines work?

Wind turbines are made of three visible components; the tower, the box on top of the tower (the nacelle) and the three blades that can extend to over 80m in length. Often, wind turbines are grouped together to form wind farms, which help to generate renewable electricity for our national electricity grid.

How wind turbine blades work?

  • The blades of the turbine rotate when the wind blows at speeds as low as six to seven miles per hour.
  • The blades can rotate on their own axis to create resistance and can be feathered to prevent damage to the turbines during very high wind speeds. 
  • To optimise efficiency, the turbine can also rotate the nacelle and the blades to face into the oncoming wind. 
  • The rotating turbines blades are attached to a hub that turns a low-speed shaft, located inside the nacelle. When that turns, it’s connected to a gearbox that increases the rotational speed by about 100 times and transfers this to a high-speed shaft, which spins very quickly. 
  • An electrical generator is connected to the high-speed shaft, which transforms this kinetic energy into electrical energy. 
  • Generators transform the kinetic energy into electrical energy by rotating a large electromagnet close to stationary coils.

The energy conversion process

The movement of the magnetic field induces a current in the coils, which is sent through electrical cables down the tower to a transformer that raises the voltage coming from the generator, from 690V to 11–33kV.

This minimises energy losses as energy is distributed to the national grid, to power homes, hospitals, schools, offices and more. The turbine transformer then directs the electrical current through underground cables to the wind farm control building and substation where the voltage may be further stepped up to 66kV or even 132kV.

The output of the wind farm is measured at this point and the electricity is sent into the grid via infrastructure such as cables and overhead lines.

Want to talk to us about any of our developments?
Contact us now on 0191 378 6100 or email us

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