Generating Electricity: Wind Power

Shown is an animated GIF of a wind turbine rotating in blue sky. The camera looks up from the base of the turbine. It is pale grey with a long tapering tower. At the top is a small rectangular box with a conical rotor on the front. Three long, pointed blades stretch out from the rotor. They rotate smoothly and continuously.

Shown is a colour illustration of three wind turbines, with their subsystems labelled. Coming up from the bottom of the illustration are long, white poles that get narrower towards the top. One of these is labelled “Tower.” White capsule shapes with pointed ends sit horizontally on top of the towers. One of these is labelled “Nacelle.” A line divides the point at the front of each nacelle, forming a cone. One of these is labelled “Rotor.” Three long, thin, leaf or wing-shaped structures with blue tips extend outward from each rotor. These are labelled “Rotor blades.”

Shown is a colour illustrated graph titled “Changes in Average Land-based Turbine Sizes in North America over Time.” The Y axis is labelled “Height (metres).” It goes from 0 at the bottom to 170 at the top. The X axis is labelled “Year” and runs from 1960 on the left, to 2030s on the right. The background of the graph is blue sky and low green hills. White turbines and landmarks are arranged as if they are part of the landscape. In the top left corner, a legend reads “NM = Nameplate Capacity = Maximum power it can generate,” “HH = Hub Height = Hub is where rotors are attached to the nacelle,” and RD = Rotor Diameter.” Starting on the left, the first date mark reads, “1960-1990.” Above, a tiny turbine is labelled “MW = 0.1, HH = 18 m, RD = 17 m.” Next to it, a two storey house reaches a height just below the rotor. The next date mark reads, “1990-1995.” Above, a larger turbine is labelled “MW = 0.3, HH = 30 m, RD = 33 m.” Next to it, an illustration of a waterfall is labelled “Niagara Falls, Ontario, 51 m.” The third date mark reads, “2005.” The diameter of the turbine above is labelled, “MW = 1.4, HH = 73 m, RD = 73 m.” Next to it, an illustration of a large, castle-like building is labelled “Château Frontenac, Québec, 77 m.” The fourth date mark reads, “2015.” The diameter of the turbine above is labelled, “MW = 2.0, HH = 82 m, RD = 102 m.” Next to it, an illustration of a tall green suspension bridge is labelled “Lions Gate Bridge, British Columbia, 111 m.” The final date mark is labelled “2030s.” The turbine above this one is the largest, and bright pink. This is labelled “MW = 3.25, HH = 115 m, RD = 135 m.”

Shown is a colour bar graph illustrating the total capacity and locations of wind farms in Canada. The title, “20 Largest Wind Farms in Canada (2023)” is in bold letters across the top. The Y axis is labelled “Capacity (MW)” and the X axis is marked from 0 to 400. The bars run horizontally from the Y axis on the left. Each bar is labelled with its name and location, in a column on the right. A legend along the bottom indicates that their colours represent the province where each farm is located. The list reads: Seigneurie de Beaupré, QC, 364 MW; Rivière-du-Moulin, QC, 350 MW; Henvey Inlet, ON, 300 MW; Blackspring Ridge, AB, 300 MW; Lac Alfred, QC, 300 MW; K2 Wind Power Facility, ON, 270 MW; South Kent Wind Farm, ON, 270 MW; Niagara Region, ON, 230 MW; Nicolas-Riou, QC, 225 MW; Gros-Morne, QC, 211 MW; Whitla Wind 1, AB, 202 MW; Golden South, SK, 200 MW; Amaranth, ON, 199 MW; Wolfe Island, ON, 197 MW; Prince Township, BC, 189 MW; Meikle, ON, 185 MW; Underwood, ON, 181 MW; Armow, NB, 180 MW; Kent Hills, ON, 167 MW; Comber, ON, 165 MW.