Cleanfield Energy
Cleanfield Energy was an erstwhile Hamilton, Ontario manufacturer of small, fixed-blade, Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs). I hadn’t written much about them publicly until I edited my private notes for a section on them in my new book Wind Energy for the Rest of Us. As seen in the extract from my book below, I did not think highly of them or their product. They lasted longer than most flash-in-the-pan VAWT promoters, but eventually they too went defunct, stiffing turbines owners, investors, and vendors. One vendor said they installed some 70 turbines mostly in Canada. I have not verified that.
I thought the matter was dead until one of Cleanfield’s suppliers contacted me. Despite Cleanfield’s demise, the vendor remained a die-hard VAWT advocate. This becomes almost religious to some. For that reason I am posting some links and documents on the company for those who need another case study of hubris and hustle in the small VAWT sweepstakes.
Small-scale wind turbines in cities and suburbs: Current practice
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Stephen Tullis
In this presentation, Stephen Tullis of McMaster University calls attempts to use Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines in urban environments “promising,” but notes they are too new to conclude much.
Vibration Analysis of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Blade
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Another research paper by S. Tullis and his students at McMaster Univeristy. The paper acknowledges funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence and Cleanfield Energy.
Wind Power Production in the Urban Environment
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Technical paper by S. Tullis and his students at McMaster University examining the wind flow around and over buildings. The work was funded by the Ontario’s Centres of Excellence.
CFD Simulation of Dynamic Thrust and Radial Forces on a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Blade
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Another technical article by S. Tullis on what was the Cleanfield 3.5 kW VAWT.
Performance Testing of a Small Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine
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Performance testing of the Cleanfield VAWT in the 9 m NRC wind tunnel. The test results showed nothing unusual and because they were performed in a wind tunnel are not considered comparable to real world tests.
Performance Testing of a Small Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine
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Another version of the paper by S. Tullis and his students at McMaster University on the wind tunnel tests of Cleanfield’s 3.5 kW VAWT.
