Wind blows toward the turbine's rotor blades.
The rotors spin around slowly, capturing some of the kinetic energy from the wind, and turning the central drive shaft that supports them.
The rotor blades can swivel on the hub at the front so they meet the wind at the best angle for harvesting energy.
Inside the nacelle (the main body of the turbine sitting on top of the tower and behind the blades), the gearbox converts the low-speed rotation of the drive shaft (about 16 revolutions per minute, rpm) into high-speed (1600 rpm) rotation fast enough to drive the generator efficiently.
The generator, immediately behind the gearbox, takes kinetic energy from the spinning drive shaft and turns it into electrical energy.
Anemometers (wind-speed monitors)