Day 5 was very windy to say the least. Beginning the day with a brief lecture on the exact physics components of windmills. We were taught the difference in stylistic choices of windmills, why they are placed where they are, and the equations used to calculate both the energy input and output. I didn’t know there was a difference between drag and lift windmills. Lift revolves around using the shape of the blade to allow for air to flow much faster over one side of the blade,  creating a low-pressure environment around it, forcing its rotation. Inevitably, this allows for the blade to spin much faster than the wind speed itself, currently being the most efficient way to use windmills to harness energy. Drag windmills are built of a much flatter and wider surface area, essentially just using the wind to “push” the blade in circles. This created more torque and slower wind speed, which in turn led to lower efficiency and less energy output. However, the shape of the drag mills comes out on top when used for pumping water or using hydraulics to generate energy. 

It’s starting to seem like the entire country runs on wind energy, but today was nothing like I’d ever seen before. The lecture directly led us into a 90-minute journey by bus to one of the biggest windmill farms in the entire country, Windpark Groen. There, we were able to learn from experts of the company Pure Energy exactly what the process of harnessing wind energy from the mills is like and how they can connect them to batteries on site as well as transfer energy into the national grid. When thinking of the term sustainable energy, this seems to be at the top of every list. For how little environmental effect it has after construction, how cost-effective/low-maintenance it is, and how much energy it actually produces, this is one of, if not the most, sustainable form of energy currently. I’d never been this close to a windmill in general, let alone this many, so it was truly a sight to see. Near my house back in the states, there are a couple of windmills, but nothing on this level. I’m surprised, though, that there are many large fields around me where we could benefit from this. Especially since after speaking with the workers of the wind farm, I learned that not only can the wind farms make a lot of money and energy, but farmers who rent out their land where these windmills are placed can receive very high monetary values for it. Comparing this farm to rural Pennsylvania might be an unfair comparison, but there is still a possibility for a smaller-scale project to be made; the only question is, why hasn’t there been one yet? 

After the wind farm, we took a quick trip into the small yet historic town of Elburg. While not heavily involved, they still had some connection to World War Two. After a brief city tour, we got the chance to eat lunch together as a group. Burgers and fries can never go wrong. From here, we headed back to the University of Twente and called it a night. See you next time!