A garden of colorful pinwheels spins in a simulated gusty breeze. Real turbines work the same way: they convert the kinetic energy of moving air into rotational mechanical energy through their blades. Power output scales with the cube of wind speed (P ā vĀ³), so even a small speed increase dramatically boosts available energy. Utility-scale turbines typically "cut in" around 3ā4 m/s and shut down for safety above ~25 m/s. The Betz limit caps any turbine at extracting at most 59.3% of the wind's kinetic energy, and the blade tip-speed ratio (blade tip speed Ć· wind speed) further governs real-world efficiency.