Vertical-axis wind turbines being tested for urban use
I’ve always been curious about vertical-axis wind turbines, or VAWTs, which haven’t received much attention in the wind-energy market because of failed attempts in the past to commercialize them. The smaller versions are generally designed for rooftop use on high- or low-rise office buildings, apartment complexes and homes, but they can be made much larger for use in a wind-farm model.
Many of the companies selling these products — assuming they have product for sale — are either small private companies or publicly traded over the counter. Lacking credibility or a track record, and often failing to provide adquate information on their products, these companies tend to be dismissed and eventually they fade away after trials and tests fail to result in sales. It doesn’t help that many wind experts dismiss the technology as experimental, unproven or disproven after two decades of government testing.
That said, I do think there are many home and building owners in cities who would be curious about the use of small vertical-axis turbines in an urban context, given the fact these products require less space than traditional turbines and are touted as less noisy.
This is why I was pleased to see that McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, is evaluating a 2.5 kilowatt vertical-axis wind turbine from Cleanfield Energy Corp. of Mississauga. The turbine is designed for residential and commercial use, helping homeowners and businesses offset their energy use with wind power without needing the height and pole required for traditional turbines. McMaster’s department of mechanical engineering is studying the performance of the Cleanfield Energy turbine in urban wind conditions.
There’s a vertical-axis turbine from another company called Windaus Energy Inc. in Brantford, Ontario, that McMaster would also be wise to test out. Ditto for a much larger VAWT system from Calgary-based Sustainable Energy Technologies Corp., which is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange. Heck, if you’re going to test one might as well test a few for comparison.
I will be very curious to see the result of the university’s study, given the lack of information about these intriguing but equally suspicious wind-power products. For an interesting history and update on vertical-axis wind turbines check out this June 2004 article in Mechanical Engineering magazine. It’s quite optimistic about the prospects for VAWT systems.
Perhaps this is just a case of good technology, bad marketing. BTW: I welcome any comments from people who have some experience with VAWT systems.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
December 13th, 2005 at 1:34 am
I once did some research on this topic, via google, and found that there was a fairly substantial VAWT project constructed in California in the past. Not being an engineer, as far as I understand there were certain defects that made the design impractical in the scale of that project. I also believe that maintenence was not very practical. Can’t recall all the details, but the information is out there.
December 13th, 2005 at 12:41 pm
I received a presentation on VAWT and learned a great deal about the technology. Indeed, it “fits” better on rooftops than horizontal axis turbines because of the height and space requirements. But they are also very expensive for the small amount of power they generally provide. A 2.5 KW tower produces enough electricity to offset about $1,800 annually at $0.08 per kw (in the Northwest where I’m located, the price of energy is about $0.06). When we considered the total cost of the equipment, installation, and maintenance, it takes at least 20 years for pay back. Unfortunately, we still base our value on the dollar investment instead of the great need to utilize technologies like this. Until we truly see how valuable capturing wind energy is in designing and constructing new buildings, this reality won’t be seen.
Turby
Google Search
December 13th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
In Rouyn-Noranda, a small company called Dermond makes a VAWT that produces 200 kW of electricity. It is marketed to out of reach settlements of Northern Canada or Russia, and urban settings, such as Chicago or New York City. The VAWT is equiped with a vanadium battery mined in Chibougamau, Qc.
Both operations are 100
December 14th, 2005 at 11:58 am
Thanks for these comments above. Very helpful. I have heard of the McKenzie Bay business, and at one point I believe they were shortlisted to provide VAWTs atop the buildings that eventually replace the World Trade Center in New York City. Not sure where that led.
May 25th, 2006 at 12:03 am
I am interested in constructing a wind power project in an urban setting and I think it is entirely feasible. I am currently looking at technology by Mass Megawatts Wind Power (ticker MMGW traded in the OTC market in the U.S., website is: http://www.massmegawatts.com). It seems to have a modular, scalable VAWT technology that can produce electricity with a turbine size as low as 25kW – or much higher if you desire. The design uses a rectangular lattice structure for stability (eliminating the need for guy wires) and the parts are all mass produced and in most cases commoditized so as to greatly reduce costs. The power efficiency is only 28% but the reduced costs and easy maintenance (the gears, bearings, etc. are all at ground level and easily accessible) make the investment apparently very economically viable – especially if you use it in conjunction with an augmentor. I am in the process of testing a location now. Should have some results in a few months.
I believe this company was short-listed for the Freedom Tower as well, but it was eventually concluded that it would be too expensive to construct since getting the required materials to the top would be incredibly difficult.
Full disclosure:
1) Separate from the feasibility of my own wind power project, I concluded that I liked MMGW enough that I now own the stock.
2) I am a Canadian ex-pat living in New York City now.
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:11 pm
I’m doing research into the potential of urban wind power. Do you have any information available from your testing of VAWT or know where I could get same?
Thanks
Bill Reinhart
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Hi Bill, just oploaded a doc with what I consider a good start here (for 7 days after date of this posting
Kind regards,
Emil M