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The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, by tradition specifically to mill grain (), but in some parts of the English-speaking world, the term has also been extended to encompass windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications.
Wind power first appeared in Europe during the Middle Ages. The first historical records of their use in England date to the 11th and 12th centuries; there are reports of German crusaders taking their windmill-making skills to Syria around 1190. [8] By the 14th century, Dutch windmills were in use to drain areas of the Rhine delta.
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails , windmills and windpumps , but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation.
The use of wind to provide mechanical power came somewhat later in antiquity. The Babylonian emperor Hammurabi planned to use wind power for his ambitious irrigation project in the 17th century BC. [16] Hero of Alexandria (Heron) in first-century Roman Egypt described what appears to be a wind-driven wheel to power a machine.
In 2023, 421.1 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power, or 10.07% of electricity in the United States. [2] The average wind turbine generates enough electricity in 46 minutes to power the average American home for one month. [3] In 2019, wind power surpassed hydroelectric power as the largest renewable energy source in the U.S.
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails , windmills and windpumps , but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation.