T4W02 R Q15 – Selective High School

Wind Energy

Anything that moves has kinetic energy, and scientists and engineers are using the wind's kinetic energy to generate electricity. Wind energy, or wind power, is created using a wind turbine, a device that channels the power of the wind to generate electricity.

The wind blows the blades of the turbine, which are attached to a rotor. The rotor then spins a generator to create electricity. There are two types of wind turbines: the horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) and vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs). HAWTs are the most common type of wind turbine. 15 .......... .The blades are positioned so that they face directly into the wind. VAWTs have shorter, wider curved blades that resemble the beaters used in an electric mixer.

Small, individual wind turbines can produce 100 kilowatts of power, enough to power a home. 16 ........... Slightly larger wind turbines sit on towers that are as tall as 80 meters and have rotor blades that extend approximately 40 meters long. These turbines can generate 1.8 megawatts of power. Even larger wind turbines can be found perched on towers that stand 240 meters tall, and have rotor blades more than 162 meters (531 feet) long. These large turbines can generate anywhere from 4.8 to 9.5 megawatts of power.

Once the electricity is generated, it can be used, connected to the electrical grid, or stored for future use. The United States Department of Energy is working with the National Laboratories to develop and improve technologies, such as batteries and pumped-storage hydropower so that they can be used to store excess wind energy. 17 ...........

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 57,000 wind turbines in the United States, both on land and offshore. 18 ........... While one turbine can generate enough electricity to support the energy needs of a single home, a wind farm can generate far more electricity, enough to power thousands of homes. 19 ...........

The largest offshore wind farm in the world is called the Walney Extension. This wind farm is located in the Irish Sea approximately 19 kilometres west of the northwest coast of England. 20 .......... .The grid of 87 wind turbines stands 195 meters tall, making these offshore wind turbines some of the largest wind turbines in the world. The Walney Extension has the potential to generate 659 megawatts of power, which is enough to supply 600,000 homes in the United Kingdom with electricity.

Six sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences (A – G) the one which fits each gap (15 – 20). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

They usually have two or three long, thin blades that look like airplane propeller.

Wind turbines can be standalone structures, or they can be clustered together in what is known as a wind farm.

Wind turbines are extremely tall structures that supply electricity to many thousands of homes.

Small wind turbines are also used for places like water pumping stations

Companies like General Electric install batteries along with their wind turbines so that as the electricity is generated from wind energy, it can be stored right away.

The Walney Extension covers a massive area of 149 square kilometres, which makes the wind farm bigger than the city of San Francisco, California, or the island of Manhattan in New York.

Wind farms are usually located on top of a mountain or in an otherwise windy place to take advantage of natural winds.

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Six sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences (A – G) the one which fits each gap (15 – 20). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.