• 12 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Wind Turbine Diagram Labeled

A whole wind turbine, then its nacelle cut open.

Wind Turbine Diagram Labeled

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Blades
  2. Tower
  3. Nacelle
  4. Hub
  5. Gearbox
  6. Generator
  7. Main shaft (low-speed shaft)
  8. Brake
  9. Yaw drive (yaw system)
  10. Pitch system
  11. Anemometer
  12. Wind vane

Own drawing from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: what is inside a generator

All 12 parts on the diagram

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The whole turbine 4

  1. Blades Wind flowing over them makes the rotor spin.
  2. Tower It holds the turbine up where the wind is stronger.
  3. Nacelle The housing for the gearbox, shafts, generator and brake.
  4. Hub The blades are fixed to it.

Inside the nacelle 8

  1. Gearbox It turns the slow spin of the rotor into a fast one.
  2. Generator It turns the spinning into electricity.
  3. Main shaft (low-speed shaft) It carries the rotor's slow spin to the gearbox.
  4. Brake It holds the rotor still once the turbine is stopped.
  5. Yaw drive (yaw system) It turns the nacelle so the rotor faces the wind.
  6. Pitch system It turns each blade to change its angle to the wind.
  7. Anemometer It measures the wind speed.
  8. Wind vane It measures the wind direction.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where both of these use it. (1) US Department of Energy, Wind Energy Technologies Office, How a Wind Turbine Works, text version, https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/how-wind-turbine-works-text-version : tower, nacelle, blades, hub, rotor, main shaft and low-speed shaft, gearbox, high-speed shaft, generator, brake, yaw drive and yaw system, pitch system, anemometer, wind vane, controller, and what each does. (2) Wikipedia, Wind turbine design and Wind turbine, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine_design and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine : tower, nacelle, rotor blade, rotor hub, main shaft, gearbox, generator, brake, yaw control and yaw system, blade pitch control, anemometer, wind vane, foundation. The US Energy Information Administration's wind pages (https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/wind/electricity-generation-from-wind.php) were read too and agree; they are part of the same department, so they are not counted as a second source. Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A wind turbine turns wind into electricity. Two drawings: the whole turbine with its blades, hub, nacelle and tower, then the nacelle cut open to show the machinery inside.

Read the full guide

From wind to electricity

Wind flowing over the blades makes the rotor spin; the rotor is the blades and the hub together. The main shaft carries that slow spin to the gearbox, which speeds it up. A faster shaft then drives the generator, and the generator makes electricity.

Facing the wind

A wind vane on the roof measures the wind direction, and the yaw drive turns the nacelle so the rotor faces the wind. The pitch system turns each blade to change its angle, which controls how fast the rotor spins.

  • Most wind turbines have three blades.
  • Some turbines have no gearbox: the rotor turns the generator directly. They are called direct-drive turbines.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a wind turbine?

The tower, the nacelle on top of it, and the rotor, which is the hub and the blades. Inside the nacelle are the main shaft, the gearbox, the brake and the generator.

What is the nacelle of a wind turbine?

The nacelle is the housing on top of the tower. It holds the gearbox, the low-speed and high-speed shafts, the generator and the brake.

What does the gearbox do in a wind turbine?

The rotor turns slowly. The gearbox uses gears to speed that rotation up before it reaches the generator, which lets the generator be smaller.

Why are wind turbine towers so tall?

Wind speed increases with height, so a taller tower lets the turbine capture more energy and make more electricity.

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