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.
Heidelberg Motor’s VAWT Video
By
Paul Gipe
In research for his new book, Vaughn Nelson is turning up a number of fascinating videos. One he found is a video of Heidelberg Motor’s H-rotor operating in Germany. The VAWT was unusual in that the H-rotor drove tthe large ring generator, seen in the video, directly via a torque tube. Later versions installed at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog test center placed the ring generator on the rotor hub atop a novel tripod tower. Heidelberg installed five turbines at the test site.
Cologne VAWT Captured on Grainy Cell Phone Pics
By
Paul Gipe
While deleting some old files–yes, I am one of those who deletes unnecessary files–I came across two photos I meant to post in 2018.
French Offshore VAWT Developer Nénuphar Goes Bust
By
Paul Gipe
The French offshore Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine developer Nénuphar closed its doors in early 2018. Their web site is dark, though there are several Nenuphar Animations on YouTube.com.
Darrieus Wind Turbine Technology Assessment Study (1992)
By
Lawrence Schienbein
One of the conclusions then is no doubt true today: “There is no well established relationship between Darrieus wind turbine prototype costs and volume production costs because only one company, FloWind Corporation, has manufactured and installed more than 100 Darrieus turbines of any model in one year.”
Darrieus Wind Turbine Assessment Vol 2: Figures and Appendices (1994)
By
The report was prepared by Lawrence Schienbein Associates, Kennewick, Washington.
Modern History of Vertical-Axis (Darrieus) Wind Turbines Published
By
Paul Gipe
Elsevier has published an extensive survey of attempts at building commercial Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines on its digital platform. The print version of the survey by Swedish academic Erik Möllerström will appear in the May 2019 issue of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
