• Modern windmills operate on much older simple mechanical principals.windmill image by Bruce Allinson from Fotolia.com
  
  Wind generators, or windmills, are a modern source of clean and renewable energy that utilize gears and the principle of the wheel and axle to produce electricity. Although often made from advanced materials, the components of a windmill are simple in both design and operation, and can be classified as the turbine, drive train and tower, and the various parts that make up each of them.
  
  

Turbine

• The blades of a wind generator's turbine radiate outward from a central rotor. When struck by sufficient wind, the turbine rotates and transfers the energy of the wind to the wind generator's drive train.
  
  

Drive Train

• The drive train of the wind generator connects the turbine and the interior rotational shaft via a gear box. When the turbine rotates, energy from the wind is transferred to the rotational shaft which, in turn, rotates a magneto within an electrical generator to produce electricity.
  
  

Tower

• The generator, shaft and gearbox of a wind generator need protection from the elements and are enclosed within a tower. In addition to protection, the tower supports and elevates the turbine to provide optimal exposure to the wind and serves as a housing for electrical cables to transfer wind energy to an electrical grid.