The following photos were taken in mid 1986 on Cameron Ridge in the Tehachapi Pass as FloWind installed a 25-meter diameter experimental Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) with a swept area of 515 square meters.

FloWind was then the world’s largest manufacturer and operator of Darrieus wind turbines. Their record has never been exceeded. They were operating several hundred of their 17 m and 19 m Darrieus turbines at the same site when these photos were taken.

I don’t know what happened to this turbine, whether it was successful or not. It was a very large wind turbine–of any kind–at the time. And I don’t remember if this was the only version installed. FloWind also operated a wind farm of Darrieus turbines in the Altamont Pass in northern California.

Subsequent to this design, FloWind abandoned the approach and opted instead for a completely different version, the EHD for Extended Height to Diameter rotor using fiberglass rather than aluminum blades.

As these photos attest, the assembly and erection of the 25 m turbine was a remarkable achievement in its day.

For more on these turbines, see FloWind: The World’s Most Successful VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine).