Wind energy can be used in place of fossil fuels to derive electricity, thus decreasing the greenhouse effect. Wind produces no by-products; it is very clean and thus less polluting to the environment. Energy from the wind can be converted into forms like electricity that supply us with power to carry out various functions, however, worldwide use of wind power for energy is less than 1%, in favor of more modern techniques. Wind turbines are machines built to change the wind energy into mechanical energy that can be used to supply power.
Windmills are a type of turbine that use energy via a connecting pump, whereas a wind generator is a device that converts this mechanical energy into electricity. Windmills are not widespread in usage anymore; they are typically associated with the old fashioned ways of using wind power, such as deriving mechanical energy from the wind to turn machines that will do physical work, like grinding grains on a farm.
Wind turbines are more widely accepted nowadays. Here, electricity is generated via an electrical generator that converts the rotation of several turbine blades into a current. Typically speaking, in the US and Canada, electric power derived from wind energy is significantly cheaper than energy obtained from fuels. The cost of wind power is also decreasing hugely into the millennium, with drops as much as 80% in the last 7 years. Three years ago, wind power ranked the fastest growing electricity form compared to other exhaustible and costly sources.