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.
Abandoned DAF-Indal Darrieus Turbine on the Îles-de-la-Madeleine
By
Paul Gipe
Someone sent me a link to a YouTube video titled Abandoned Vertical Axis Windmill In The Magdalen Islands.
You can’t buy this turbine, but you can buy its power
By
Paul Dvorak
Even though the blades appear curved, each is made of 11 sections with hinged connections. The rotor will be limited to about 80 rpm by using several aviation-style airbrakes in the center sections of each blade, and by two brakes in the tower.
Adecon Darrieus Turbine Photos Posted
By
Paul Gipe
In response to a query from a Swedish researcher, I’ve posted eight historic photos of the Adecon Darrieus wind turbine to my web site. See Adecon under Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) in the Photos section.
Another Small VAWT with Big Ambitions Bankrupt: X-Wind Power
By
Paul Gipe
Small Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) come and go so fast no one can keep track of them before they become history.
VAWTs Relegated to the Backwaters of the Internet Where Anti-Vaxxers Roam
By
Paul Gipe
I’d seen a reference to the technical paper, Optimization of a vertical axis wind turbine for application in an urban/suburban area, by two academics making the rounds but didn’t take much notice of it before now.
Darrieus and His Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs)
By
Paul Gipe
Largely forgotten today, Georges Jean Marie Darrieus was one of France’s great engineers. While he is mostly known in the English-speaking world for his patent on vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs), he was a prolific inventor in a number of fields from ballistics to turbo-alternators.
