Wind Turbine High Wind Protection Methods

Currently there are a few popular methods to achieve this.  The picture below left is a Hornet wind turbine generator, it's simple and proven design.  This wind turbine generator utilizes advanced carbine fiber blades that can flex and have withstood hurricane force winds while generating power (not recommended as it's a good idea to take your wind turbines down for such an event)  The advanced carbon fiber blades flex under high wind conditions instead of breaking like wood, or permanently bending like most metals.  Furthermore they are cheap to produce, hence creating a very popular method for the simple micro wind turbine.  Since this is a small wind turbine in terms of it's 56 inch wing span, it generates a comparably small amount of power.  Hornets and other micro turbines of this class are great wind turbines for high wind areas and are create for creating small wind farms to power a modern off the grid home.

The picture in the center is a Hugh Piggot Axial Flux wind turbine design with a furling tail, disregard the shape of the tail, that's all a matter of personal preference with this particular design, but typically the wind turbine tail is a triangle or arrow shape is used.  The basic idea behind the furrowing tail is that as the wind pushes the tail that's weighted to stay perpendicular with the blades at stand still, as the wind increases the tail swings up while simultaneously the angle of the blades in relation to wind changes and causes the blades to turn out of the direct wind force so that at higher wind speeds less surface area of the blades is exposed to wind.  In extremely high wind scenarios the tail and the blades are nearly parallel with each other, all the while still generating power.  It's another proven design that is being used to this day.  This low tech method is quite effective, and has been used for decades in water pumping wind turbines, and in electricity generation in small commercial grade wind turbines and residential units alike.  Currently plans to make your own wind turbine generator using this method can be had all over the internet, but the best plans on the market for the larger residential turbines (wing spans of over 7 feet) are the Axial Flux windmill plans called "How To Build a Wind Turbine" by Hugh Piggott.  

Below right is a super huge commercial grade wind turbine generator that changes the pitch of the blades to speed or slow the rotation speed of the blades, this is an effective method but it is very expensive, due to it's complex usage of external sensors like anemometers and wind vanes that interface with computers and servo motors to change the pitch of the blades, and the rotation of the entire head of the wind turbine to face the wind.  These advanced systems are found on larger residential and business class wind turbines from  25kw like Bergey to multi megawatt producing wind turbine generators like one pictured .

Poor Mans Guide to Wind Turbines