The Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, funds cutting-edge research to help the United States develop premier wind energy innovations. Wind power is one of America’s best options for low-cost, carbon-free renewable energy. It combats climate change, supports more than 88,000 U.S. jobs and grew to nearly 74 gigawatts of total installed wind capacity in 2015. That’s enough electricity to power more than 19 million homes per year!

So how do wind turbines make electricity? Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. View the wind turbine animation to see how a wind turbine works or take a look inside.

Looking for a fun project to do? Why not explore the gift that keeps on giving: clean energy. This project takes less than 20 minutes to complete and builds awareness of wind energy—the fastest growing source of power in the United States. Watch the step-by-step video on how to build a wind turbine in less than 20 minutes, hosted by Hoyt Battey,

See how wind turbines generate clean electricity from the power of wind. The video highlights the basic principles at work in wind turbines, and illustrates how the various components work to capture and convert wind energy to electricity. This updated version also includes information on the Energy Department's efforts to advance offshore wind power. Offshore wind energy footage courtesy of Vestas.

Wind and Water Power Technologies Office Director, Jose Zayas gives a behind the scenes tour of the AXYS WindSentinel research buoy, which uses high-tech instruments to measure conditions for potential offshore wind energy development.

Not only is wind a long-term renewable resource, but wind energy deployment will help stimulate the revitalization of key sectors of the economy by investing in infrastructure and creating long-term, sustainable skilled jobs. According to the Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States, Wind has the potential to support over 600,000 jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and supporting services by 2050. Learn about wind careers here.

Join the challenge! Have your class or entire school make your own Wind Turbines and post pictures on your social media channels using #STEMSparkE or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. We look forward to connect with you!

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