APIEReading: Wind Farms and Offshore Energy
Wind farms and offshore wind
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
Wind Power and the First Offshore Wind Farm
An academic reading module exploring Denmark's pioneer Vindeby project and the mechanics of modern offshore wind turbines.
💡 How to use this lesson
For Teachers:
Guide students through the reading passage to highlight factual evidence and hedging language before setting time limits. Check answers as a class using the structured evidence statements provided with each question.
For Learners:
First, read paragraphs A to D carefully to understand how wind turbines generate electricity and why they are placed at sea. Next, answer the 10 practice questions in order and verify your reasoning with the text evidence.
Pattern Example:
"The wind farm lies to the north-east of the village."
Notice how clear sentences connect location details to the main idea without unnecessary complexity.
Wind Farms and Offshore Wind
The Danish Energy Agency says that Denmark was the first country in the world to build an offshore wind farm. The farm was at Vindeby, close to the island of Lolland, and the agency says that it was built in 1991. It had 11 turbines, and the agency calls it a 5 MW test plant, which means a small farm built to try out the idea.
The US Department of Energy explains how a turbine makes electricity. The blades work like an airplane wing, so wind that flows past them pushes them round and the rotor turns. The rotor connects to a generator, often through a shaft and a gearbox that makes it spin faster. The generator then makes electricity. Most turbines of this type have three blades.
The Department of Energy says that offshore turbines tend to be very large and can catch strong winds over the ocean to make a lot of energy. Because the sea can carry the big parts by ship, builders do not need to move them on roads by truck. The Danish Energy Agency says that wind turbines can stand on land or at sea.
I think the Vindeby farm shows that the idea of building turbines in the sea is old, but it seems that a 5 MW test plant was small. The pages explain how one turbine works and why big ones suit the sea, so I do not think they tell us how much power a whole country gets from offshore wind.
An offshore wind turbine array generating clean power at sea.
Matching Information
Which paragraph contains the following information? Select the correct letter, A–D, for questions 1–3.
1. A description of the advantage of sea transport over road transport for turbine parts.
2. An explanation of the mechanical process converting wind motion into electrical energy.
3. Details regarding the history and capacity of the first experimental offshore project.
Identification of Writer's Views & Claims
Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer in the reading passage?
Select YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer, NO if it contradicts the views, or NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say.
4. The writer believes that the Vindeby wind farm was a large supplier of energy when it was constructed.
5. Modern offshore wind turbines built today usually produce more than 10 MW of electricity.
6. The provided texts show exactly how much total electricity Denmark currently receives from offshore wind.
Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
7. According to paragraph B, why do wind turbine blades turn when wind passes over them?
8. Why are builders able to construct very large turbines offshore rather than on land?
Summary Completion
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
9. Wind turbines produce energy when air flows past blades designed similarly to an ____, which pushes them round to turn the rotor.
10. The rotation of the rotor is transmitted through a shaft and gearbox to reach a ____, which then generates the electrical power.
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