While windmills have been around for ages, wind turbines have only been around since roughly 1888. Wind “turbines” differ from wind “mills”   in that the former are used to generate electricity from the spinning of the blades,  while the latter convert the energy created by its  spinning blades  into mostly mechanical opertions, such as turning a mill or pumping water.

Secondly. the blades of a windmill are close to the ground so in order to spin air currents need to be gathered near the ground.  Windmills are obviously dependent upon wind currents to work (fortunately the Netherlands are perfectly situated to have lots). In order to grab as much wind as is available near the ground windmills must have large blades. Wind turbines are very efficient with thin blades with so much more air currents higher up.

In the 1800’s a key component was invented that could store energy as electricity:  the generator.   The development of wind turbines was the next step in perfecting  the harnessing of wind energy.

How Wind Turbines Work – To catch stronger air currents, a wind turbine reaches hundreds of feet higher into the sky than a windmill does. It uses the same  principles as a windmill – turning wind into spinning energy – but the generators add another element so the wind turbines create  an electric current which can be used  in a myriad of ways – from. charging charge batteries, loading an electrical grid, etc.   In fact a wind turbines works in reverse of an electric motor:  an electric motor uses electricity to create motion, while a wind turbine uses motion to produce electricity.

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