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Rotor:
The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.
Tower:
Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice.
Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to
capture more energy and generate more electricity.
Wind direction:
This is an "upwind" turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind.
Other turbines are designed to run "downwind," facing away from the wind.
Wind vane:
Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the
turbine properly with respect to the wind.
Yaw drive:
Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor
facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don't
require a yaw drive; the wind blows the rotor downwind.
Yaw motor:
Powers the yaw drive1.
1 U.S. Department of Energy. Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html#types
