Mag-Wind
The following are a series of articles on Mag-Wind. I feature Mag-Wind in my book Wind Energy Basics as an example of how to evaluate the wild claims of inventors. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not a flattering portrayal. It took a long time, but the long arm of the law finally caught up with the promoter of Mag-Wind.
I took an interest in Mag-Wind because I was working in Toronto with the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative at the time. The company selling these “wind turbines” (I am using the term loosely here) was in Ontario on the shores of Lake Erie and, thus, not far from Toronto. I was getting constant requests to comment on their “revolutionary” design and the press this “product” was getting began to affect my work promoting real renewable energy. So, despite my misgivings, I had to take the time to look into their claims. My reaction is found below.
Most such “inventions” last only a few years but Mag-Wind kept resurfacing and as it did it would garner ever more high-profile “endorsements”. This would be laughable if real money wasn’t involved–and in the end it was the search for new money that led them afoul of the FBI.
James Allen Rowan of Mag-Wind Appears in Court
By
Paul Gipe
On 26 June 2019 the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer reported that James Allen Rowan of Mag-Wind fame appeared in federal court in an orange jump suit to stand trial for fraud.
Sask. appeal court upholds extradition of man charged in wind turbine sales fraud to U.S.
By
Thia James
James Rowan, whose wind turbine venture attracted the attention of celebrities, now awaits extradition to the U.S. to be tried on fraud-related charges.
Update: Wind turbine entrepreneur, wanted by the FBI, found hiding in Saskatoon
By
Thia James
Celebrities like former Tonight Show host Jay Leno and actor Ed Begley Jr. endorsed the Canadian entrepreneur’s product. Rowan was making national headlines with his invention. But skeptics wondered if it actually worked.
Mag-Wind’s James Rowan Captured in Saskatoon after Four Years on the Lam
By
Paul Gipe
Four years after a federal grand jury in Raleigh, North Carolina returned a two-count indictment against James Alan Rowan for his fraudulent wind turbine investments, the fugitive was caught in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Ontario man facing extradition to U.S. on fraud charges found at parents’ home in Saskatoon
By
Thia James
James Alan Rowan was apprehended in Saskatoon, where his parents live. A Saskatoon judge committed him to be extradited to the U.S. to face two fraud charges filed against him amid allegations he deceived investors into believing his company, Enviro-Energies, had developed a landmark wind turbine technology.
Grand Jury Indictment of James Alan Rowan of Mag-Wind
By
Paul Gipe
Grand Jury for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Southern Division indictment of James Alan Rowan of Mag-Wind, Enviro-Energies.