The most common way of getting energy from the wind is through setting up 'Wind farms'. The first wind farm was set up in November 1991. In March 2004 there were 1,043 wind turbines in operation at 84 sites around the UK, providing 649.4 MW or 0.3-0.4% of the UK's electricity supply. There are also two offshore wind farms at Blyth Offshore (4MW) and North Hoyle (60 MW).

When they were first introduced they were very expensive, however over the years, initial costs have fallen, and therefore the cost of getting electricity from the wind has dropped considerably.

The government, along with others around the globe have introduced initiatives and proposals to ensure more of our energy comes from environmentally friendly resources.

According to the British Wind Energy Association,  there now exists primary legislation to ensure that 10% of our renewable energy (3% of our electricity) will come from wind power by 2010 and 15% by 2015.

Wind turbines generally have 3 blades and they rotate at 10-30 revolutions per minute. The blades face into the wind, the wind forces them to go round, which then spins a shaft inside the turbine, which is connected to a generator which produces the electricity.