The Key Components of a Wind Turbine

BLADES

TOWER

NACELLE

HUB

GEARBOX

GENERATOR

YAW DRIVE

YAW BEARINGS

MAIN SHAFT

ROTOR

THE TOWER

• A tapered tubular steel or concrete structure; the upper part supports the nacelle

• Towers can be 95-120 meters tall

THE NACELLE

• The nacelle is located at the top of the tower and faces the direction of the wind, thanks to its positioning (yaw) system

• Contains shafts, a gearbox, generator and hydraulic and control systems

THE ROTOR

• Is used to take wind energy and convert it into rotational kinetic energy

• Rotates clockwise, when looking at the turbine from the front

THE HUB

• The mechanism that transmits energy from the three blades to the low speed shaft

• Automatically adjusts blade pitch depending on wind speed

THE BLADES

• Measure 184 feet for the AWP 3000 /116 wind turbine model

• Are made with a smooth outer coating to protect them from UV radiation and maintain their color

GEARBOX

• Transfers torque from the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft of the wind turbine, increasing the angular speed

GENERATOR

• Power is generated in medium voltage (12kV), which saves transformers and reduces losses

YAW BEARINGS AND YAW DRIVE

• Positions and automatically adjusts the nacelle towards the dominant wind direction

WIND MEASURING SYSTEM

• Gathers data on wind speed and direction

• This data helps turbine control yaw and blade pitch and is monitored day and night by the operations center.

WIND MEASURING SYSTEM

KeyComponentsTurbine.indd 1 6/14/2017 5:01:32 PM