Wind (Onshore)Lift. Rotation. Current.
Airfoil-shaped blades generate lift, spinning a rotor connected — directly or through a gearbox — to a generator.
Step through the entire flow.
Each step animates what is happening at that moment — click anywhere on the left to jump, or press play to watch the whole sequence.
The Wind
Solar heat creates pressure differentials, which create wind. Power in the wind scales with the cube of wind speed.
Side by side with its competition.
| Technology | LCOE ($/MWh) | Capacity Factor | Lifespan (yr) | CO₂ (g/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (Onshore) | 40 | 42% | 25 | 11 |
| Wind (Offshore) | 90 | 50% | 25 | 12 |
| Solar PV (utility) | 35 | 24% | 30 | 48 |
| Natural Gas (CCGT) | 75 | 58% | 30 | 490 |
What's great. What's not. What critics say and whether they're right.
- Cheapest new electricity in many grids (US plains, UK, Brazil)
- High capacity factor vs. solar (35–50% onshore)
- Land under turbines remains productive — farms, ranches
- Visual impact; noise at close range (~45 dB at 300 m — conversational)
- Bird and bat collisions — real, mitigable
- Blade recycling not yet at scale
- "Kills birds" — real but far smaller than cats/buildings; siting + curtailment reduces it
- "Doesn’t work when it’s calm" — true, solved with storage and geographic diversity
- "Health effects from low-frequency noise" — no credible epidemiological signal
Onshore wind is the cheapest new electricity in vast parts of North America and Europe. The remaining problems are siting and grid integration, not the technology.
The research that will change this page in two years.
Taller towers, bigger rotors
New turbines reach >200 m tip height, unlocking steadier, stronger winds.
Blade recycling
Commercial thermoplastic blades (recyclable) and chemical recycling of thermoset blades scaling in 2026+.
Offshore float
Floating offshore wind opens deep-water coasts (Pacific US, Maine, Japan) previously inaccessible.
See what others built
Community-submitted systems using this technology — budget, location, equipment list, lessons learned.
Plan your system
Step through the configurator — we size panels, inverter, and batteries based on your actual usage.
Curated gear list
Editor picks and best-value products, all with transparent affiliate disclosure.