Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) can be either small or large. Regardless, they are not the mainstay of the wind industry. Very few exist and even fewer than those work. For many years, I kept these pages as subcategory of small wind turbines. However, this arrangement no longer worked well with the current web site design so I’ve put them under the main category of wind turbines even though most serious work on the technology ceased years if not decades ago.
Chapter 6. Vertical-Axis and Darrieus Wind Turbines, of my book Wind Energy for the Rest of Us: A Comprehensive Guide to Wind Power and How to Use It, has an extensive discussion of the technology–all in one place.
There is also an extensive collection of archival and recent photographs of VAWTs and various forms of Darrieus turbines on the Photos section of this site. There you can find photos of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines.
Worst Turbine Install in History?
By
Paul Gipe
Mike Nelson call this the worst turbine install in history. It certainly ranks right up there with some recent installations by Mariah, a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine manufacturer.
NREL Wind Turbine Generator System Power Performance Test Report for the Mariah Windspire 1-kW Wind Turbine
By
A. Huskey, A. Bowen, and D. Jager
Again, data collection was not completed with the last wind speed bin (14 m/s) not filled. In both configurations, the inverter experienced failures and the tests were not finished.
Quick Grab a Stake–Mag-Wind Rises from the Grave
By
Paul Gipe
Mag-Wind is back. Grab your children. Bar the door. The dead walk. . . Worse Ed Begley and Jay Leno, those omnipresent endorsers of all things “green”, have leapt to the aid of the undead. Their names and pictures are plastered across the web site of Enviro-Energies, the now parent of Mag-Wind.
Muncie VAWT–An Expensive Demonstration
By
Paul Gipe
The Muncie (Indiana) Star recently reported that the Delaware County Redevelopment Commission awarded almost $1 million to a relatively little known German company.
How Not to Site Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (Mariah Windspire) #1
By
Paul Gipe
Stewart Russell captured these photos of a Mariah Windspire installed at the College School in St. Louis. Stewart is an experienced wind hand and noted that the Windspire, which is an unguyed, cantilevered VAWT, was swaying in the wind. A flyer was posted on the turbine saying that this swaying was normal.
How Not to Site Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (Mariah Windspire) #2
By
Paul Gipe
This is a classic example of how not to install wind turbines to best advantage. The best that can be said about this installation is that at least they were not mounted on top of the building.
