Applicability  
   

Figure 1. Slow wind turbine driving a piston pump. Taken from Le Gourieres, Desire, Wind power plants: Theory and design, Oxford, England, Pergamon Press, 1982, p.152.

Wind turbine systems are most promising as sources of centralized electric power. In the hills of Southern California, for example, thousands of turbines are installed in wind power plants, known as "wind farms." Remote wind power systems often incorporate additional generating systems such as diesel generators and solar arrays. These "hybrid" systems provide an improved reliability of power supply and operational flexibility. When the power from the wind turbine is not sufficient to operate the load, the alternate power source comes on-line. The alternate source is used far less frequently in a hybrid system than if the wind system were not present.

A widely used application of wind turbines is for producing electric power on-site at homes, farms, and businesses, which are already served by a utility grid. Because the average wind turbine generates electricity only 25 to 30 percent of the time, it may be important in areas where winds are seasonal or where storage systems are not cost-effective to be connected to the electric utility grid.

Wind power can also be used to pump water. It is important to note that the use of wind power to pump water requires the correct wind velocity and hydrogeological conditions. Various mechanisms are used to transform the rotational motion of the windmill into a reciprocating motion that can be utilized by the pump (Figure 1).
 
   
Wind power has also been harnessed to clean up contaminated soil in remote locations where electrical power is unavailable. A Toronto, Ontario company, Conor Pacific Environmental Technology Inc., has already sold its first windmill to a major petroleum company for use in cleaning petroleum hydrocarbons from soil and groundwater at a former service station site in northern Ontario. Conor Pacific's Windsparge is a patent-pending process that uses naturally occurring soil bacteria and wind power to clean up contamination. The wind mill powers an air pump that generates air flow and pressures to create effective flow of oxygen through the soil and groundwater which then encourages growth of microbes that degrade the contaminants. The airflow is kept at a particular level by accumulating in a pulse tank until sufficient pressure and volume develops. The firm says the Windsparge will effectively clean up biodegradable contaminants including gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and jet fuel. The windmills are ideal for remote applications including former gas station sites, areas around pipelines and wellheads, former military bases where diesel and jet fuel have been used, DEW line sites and anywhere where there have been spills or leaking tanks.