Rooftop and Urban Wind
This category is primarily about how not to or where not to install wind turbines–of any size. There are legitimate urban wind installations. These are typically commercial-scale turbines sited to best advantage within urban agglomerations. However, there is an unfortunate proliferation of “rooftop urban wind” projects that are nothing more than architectural greenwashing.
Rooftop and Building Integrated Wind Turbines are a Failure Says NREL
By
Paul Gipe
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) concludes in a new report that rooftop-mounted and building-integrated wind turbines are a failure, though readers would be hard pressed to find that statement in so many words.
Cleanfield Energy: Another Story of VAWT Hubris & Hustle
By
Paul Gipe
Cleanfield made a big media splash in Ontario, Canada during the mid-2000s with its claim of producing a new wind turbine suited for mounting on buildings.
UGE Dumps VAWT Business—What Happens Now to Eiffel Tower & Lincoln Field Turbines?
By
Paul Gipe
Controversial developer of “urban” wind projects Urban Green Energy (UGE) is quitting the wind business. Using its in-house designed vertical-axis wind turbine, the New York City-based company installed dozens of the wind turbines on buildings in high-profile locations, including the much-hyped turbines installed inside the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The Brock Environmental Center: A Pinnacle of Sustainability—and Resilience
By
This is the way to do small wind right. “When Hurricane Joaquin affected the East Coast the first week of October 2015, the two wind turbines, which were selected for their ability to withstand hurricane-force winds, generated 1,761 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in five days, nearly a month’s worth of electricity consumption for the building.”
Quiet Revolution VAWT Total Flop Says German Paper
By
Paul Gipe
That this turbine was doomed to fail—and would give small wind another—and unneeded—black eye was obvious from the beginning—for anyone who had the desire to know.
Small Vindication: Renewable Devices Swift Ducted Rooftop Turbine Gone
By
Paul Gipe
I am writing this now to close the book on this sad little turbine and the whole “let’s put them on the roof” phenomenon. Stumbling across an obscure NREL field test report from long ago (see Power Performance Test Report for the SWIFT Wind Turbine) dredged up this dark period in small wind turbine development.
