Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: The Future of Micro Wind? [w/video]
Another design I saw scattered throughout the show floor were those that integrated small solar and wind together on the same unit (top photo and photo below). The unit below integrates both solar and wind onto a single 400W streetlight platform.
The turbine itself is a “GUS” from a company called Tangarie which features a reflective coating that reduces glare and can even be slathered with an advertisement or a state flag of Texas, as is the one below. The complete solar/wind/streetlight/pole package (made by another company altogether) costs about $7,000, not including installation.
There will undoubtedly be substantial growth in the niche sector of vertical-axis wind turbines, especially in urban settings. Personally, I think this technology could best be applied in poorer countries to help address the most basic of energy needs, like lighting and light-duty water pumping.
Other Posts on Small and Micro Wind Energy:
“Top Five Micro Wind Turbines”
“Liveblogging from WINDPOWER 2008: Photos of Small Wind Turbines”
“Small Wind Remains in Farm Bill”
All Photos © Timothy B. Hurst
*Thanks again to the American Wind Energy Association for travel and conference support.
Awesome to see these getting the publicity they deserve! People may also want to check out the beautiful Helix Wind turbines that I came across last April at the Green California Summit. Wrote a piece about them here: http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/18/bringing-wind-power-down-to-earth/
These are beautiful, but I wonder how their efficiency works out in comparison to a more traditional turbine? A feb 2008 article in mother earth news indicates that we have a long ways to go:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/2008-02-01/Wind-Power-Horizontal-and-Vertical-Axis-Wind-Turbines.aspx
Alas!
Peter,
Thanks for that great link to Mother Earth News - lots of good stuff in there. I’ll give it a more thorough read later this weekend.
i want one of those so bad. it’s like art that pays you for letting it sit near/on your house.
VAWT should be installed on every power, light, and utilitiy pole where it make sense to do so. Think of the thousands of miles of U.S highway that could be used for power generation. This is a no brainer.
I’m sure that they will not be cheap enough for the regular American to deploy one at home.
I too believe that the Vertical Access Wind Turbines (VAWT) can and will be a viable source of renewable energies in the coming years. The Helix Wind (http://www.helixwind.com) group look to be releasing their product this year and boy are they good looking!
Nice, Wind is an excellent source of energy.
JT
http://www.FireMe.to/udi
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