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.
Cleanfield McMaster ‘My’ VAWT (Vertical Axis)
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This is an exchange on a message board by a student engineer at McMaster University displaying the VAWT they had developed and installed on a rooftop of the campus in Hamilton, Ontario. This VAWT became the Cleanfield Energy product. There was always a very close relationship between McMaster University and Cleanfield.
Wind Energy Blows into McMaster
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News item from McMaster University’s student newspaper announcing the development of a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine.
