Wind Energy Glossary and Definitions

Arachnophilia: 1) A love of spiders 2) A popular website editing program

airfoil: a curved cross-section designed to create lift as air flows over its surface.

ampere-hours: the integrated total of current in amperes flowing multiplied by the hours that it  flowed.

anemometer: a wind speed instrument

Betz Coefficient: the maximum theoretical power that can be extracted from the wind is 59.3%

cut-in speed: the wind speed at which the wind turbine starts to produce power.

cut-out speed: wind speed at which wind turbine is shut down to prevent high speed damage.

DSM: Demand-Side Management

EREC: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse EREN Energy Network http://www.eren.doe.gov

energy: the amount of work that can be, or has been done expressed in kilowatt-hours or horsepower-hours.

energy density: the energy available per unit area, measured in watts per square ft or square meter.

FEO: Florida Energy Office

furling speed: the wind speed where the turbine turns out of the main wind direction to reduce power intercepted

H.R.: United States House of Representatives

Merchant Plant: A plant that sells wholesale directly to a utility company

PSC: Public Service Commission

PURPA: Power Utility Regulatory Policy Act

rotor efficiency: the efficiency of the rotor in deriving power from the available wind power.

run of the wind: the distance that an anemometer indicates that the wind has traveled. This is an integrated distance that may be derived from a rotating element attached to a rotary indicator. A scale factor would convert the number from revolutions to miles of travel.

wind rose: a radial plot that shows the prevalence of wind shown as a star of vectors whose lengths vary in proportion to the percent of time that the wind blows from that direction. Sixteen directions are commonly used.

Wheeling:  FERC Order 888 permits wholesale wheeling of electricity among utilities. Requires utilities to open lines to competition. No impacts of environmental or pollution NOx particulates and mercury.

Content of this page created and/or adapted by Frank Leslie
main/Wind_Glossary.html updated 03/02/2002 by Frank R. Leslie
Frank R. Leslie, Windplower, for Wind Energy Experimenters