Wind turbine vs. Windmill: are they the same?

There's a lot of confusion about what to call those massive structures that harness the wind to produce energy. I often hear people using “wind turbine” and “windmill” interchangeably. But they're not the same thing.

I've had this exact conversation countless times over the last 10 years:

What do you do for a living?

I design wind turbine foundations.

What's that?

Well, you know, the foundations for wind turbines.

???

Foundations for windmills.

Ahh! Got it!

The funniest part? This confusion exists in multiple languages.

In Spanish, the proper term is aerogeneradores, but it's a bit of a tongue twister, and some people just say molinos.

In French, it's éolienne versus moulin.

This mix-up isn't a big deal in everyday conversations. But when it comes to professional settings, precision matters. I've worked on projects where the official technical documentation referred to “windmills”, and I'll admit, it hurt my soul a little!

Let's clear things up once and for all.

Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a relatively modern invention. Its blades spin to drive a generator that produces electricity, which is then fed into the power grid.

Simply put: Wind turbines generate energy.

Windmill

A windmill, on the other hand, is an older invention. It uses the wind's power to perform mechanical tasks, like grinding grain into flour or pumping water.

In fact, the word “mill” comes from the act of grinding or crushing (like milling grain). That's why calling a wind turbine a windmill doesn't quite fit. It's not grinding or crushing anything.

Key Takeaways

• Wind turbines = Modern machines that generate electricity.
• Windmills = Traditional machines for grinding grain.
• It's okay to mix them up in casual chats, but let's keep it professional in technical contexts.

This post's been light and informative, but if you're more of a technical person, go check our post on onshore wind turbine foundations to know more about the topic.