Wind turbine. The wind catches the blades of the turbine, rotating it to generate electricity. This is an environmentally-friendly source of energy, as it releases no toxic waste products and does not rely on a limited resource (such as oil) for fuel. Wind turbines are often built on the coast to take advantage of winds from the sea. This wind turbine is one of two built on the northern tip of Scotland, near Dounreay. Both are 1.16 megawatt (MW) machines that can together power up to 2000 homes. Construction was completed in March 2003.