The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) is doing its part to help reduce heavy use of electricity. The facility hired SWG Energy Inc. out of Dallas,TX, to install 18 vertical axis wind turbines on top of their 130 foot tall research tower. The 18 turbines are installed in three parallel rows and have a specially designed hood mounted over them.

“One of the reasons we chose these particular turbines is because they are designed to generate less noise and vibration than windmill-type turbines,” said engineer and consultant Sheryl Rood. “But before we went ahead with the entire installation, we wanted to test for ourselves.”

SWG Energy Inc. began work on installing the Venger Wind Model 2 wind turbines that consist of a mixture of aluminum and steel. They are heavy enough to withstand the typical Oklahoma weather, yet light enough to use the maximum amount of wind power possible. These 4.5 kilowatt turbines will turn out approximately 85,500 kilowatt hours of energy per year, enough to power seven average homes. The created energy is released directly into the tower’s grid. The system is designed so that wind power is used as first priority but, if necessary, it switches to OG+E power.

On June 19, 2012, a ceremony was held on top of the tower and, as the wind whipped by at 30 mph, OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D., and Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Taylor flipped the switch to begin a new era of energy conservation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_6GG1pQ9Gg[/youtube]

The installation of the turbines also made OMRF the first medical research facility in the US to use wind-powered energy.

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are becoming popular as more companies look to reduce their dependence on the grid. VAWTs help reduce the ever-increasing, high energy costs for companies like the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation that use a heavy amount of energy.

For more information about Venger Wind, click here.

One of the largest vertical axis wind turbines in the world will be installed off the shores of France. The 2MW Vertiwind will go through a testing phase in 2012. Once that phase is complete, it will be moved offshore to become a floating vertical axis wind turbine. The testing will take place near Marseilles and the turbine should be ready for offshore implementation in 2013-2014.

Wind turbines have been increasing in popularity due to increased environmental efforts by dedicated people and companies. There are very few complaints with the machines but when there are complaints, they are usually due to the size and noise, although it should be noted that vertical axis wind turbines are very quiet as opposed to the more traditional horizontal axis wind turbines. By installing the turbines offshore, they will neither be seen nor heard.

The Vertiwind will operate offshore in deep water of at least 50 meters. Based on the concept, the actual machine will have a rotor measuring 50 meters in diameter with three 70 meter tall blades. These blades are angled at 120 degrees and will be connected to the floater by a pole or struts. Depending on the area’s seabed conditions, the unit will be connected to the bed with drag anchors or piles by use of a chain and wire three point spread.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkqzlEqsxww[/youtube]

The video above shows a simulation of the Vertiwind offshore floating vertical axis wind turbine in motion. Vertiwind plans to have another project completed by 2015 with a 13 turbine floating, wind farm totaling 25MW.

The impact offshore floating vertical axis wind turbines such as the Vertiwind will have on energy conservation efforts remains to be seen. As concerned people and companies lean more toward green power in their efforts to reduce dependency on the grid and save money, we may very well see many more of these types of offshore floating turbines in the future.

Minnesota business owner Tony Magnotta has installed a mini vertical axis wind turbine farm on the rooftop of his office building in St. Paul. The three turbines on the rooftop were joined by a fourth turbine installed in his parking lot. Magnotta owns the office building and one of his companies, Minnesota Wind Technology, is housed in the building.

According to Magnotta this is the first urban wind farm of its kind in the country. Magnotta also installed solar panels, explaining that this would make the building “totally self-sufficient.”
The turbines installed are approximately eighteen feet tall and were manufactured by a Taiwanese company, HI-VAWT. “We switched from natural gas to electric heat. We’re saving hundreds to $1,000 a month,” said Magnotta, who is in discussions with the HI-VAWT to manufacture more turbines.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfK0q1hRpzo[/youtube]

The cost was not cheap; each turbine cost Magnotta $20,000 and he paid $50,000 for the solar panels. But because of the federal government incentives combined with the long-term energy savings, he believes it’s a good deal. As energy costs continue to increase on a constant basis, Magnotta says, “We’ll all have to do this.”

The wind turbine installation fits in well with the City of St. Paul’s energy conservation efforts as city officials are constantly looking for ways to create a more environmentally sustainable city.

There are three versions of the HI-VAWT turbine ranging from 300 watts to 3 kilowatts. The design is a combination of a stocky Savonius turbine along the axis and a set of three Darrieus blades.

Johnson System Inc. (JSI) has recently installed a vertical axis wind turbine. Manufactured and installed by ArborWind in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this 50kw turbine will help the company in its environmental and energy conservation efforts. The goal of JSI and Arborwind is to produce electricity for 9 to 12 cents a KW/HR.

JSI, a leading manufacturer of agricultural products, received a $112,928 Community Development Block Grant to install the turbine. Howard and Kathleen Johnson founded the company and saw the construction and installation of the turbine as a chance to do something new.

“It’s not like the wind turbines you’ve seen before,” said Howard Johnson. “We were looking to get into green energy.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXXk79SxUec[/youtube]

JSI plans to add at least two more turbines in the future. The turbines are expected to create 15 jobs and generate $279,000 in private investment.

“Our efforts to diversify Michigan’s economy are working,” Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in the announcement. “We look forward to continuing to partner with innovative companies like Johnson System Inc. who are taking advantage of new opportunities and creating new jobs.”

The city stepped in to help JSI by providing for 12,548 to help support the expansion of the company. “We are very excited to have a role in Johnson System Inc. expanding into the renewable energy market through the manufacturing of towers that support wind turbines,” Mike Hindenach, manager of Marshall Economic Development, said in a prepared statement.

Popular comedian and talk show host Jay Leno has introduced vertical axis wind turbines by having them installed on his garage. Leno already has electric cars and solar panels in his efforts to showcase natural and more efficient ways to go green and not be as dependent on electricity, gas and oil.

In 2007 Leno teamed up with Popular Mechanics to have a Delta II turbine from PacWind installed on his “green” garage.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax68TVYHRBU[/youtube]

The Delta II turbine produces around 10 kw in 28mph wind and is lightweight so it doesn’t need a lot of wind to get started. Unlike horizontal turbines which may require guy wires or huge bulky concrete bases, vertical axis wind turbines take up so little room that they can be installed within a few feet of each other. A micro-wind farm can be created by installing several vertical axis wind turbines in the same area, thus conserving space as well as energy.

In 2009 Leno once again installed a vertical axis wind turbine on his garage, this time it was a MagWind Turbine from Enviro-Energies and once it was installed some reports say that Leno has now cut his electric bill by 66%. This turbine levitates by use of magnetic technology.

Leno and other popular figures have been highlighting many different options in efforts to help people become more independent, more environmental friendly and help reduce energy costs.

Adobe’s vertical axis wind turbines

Adobe has continued its energy conservation efforts by installing 20 Windspire vertical axis wind turbines manufactured by Mariah at the Adobe Headquarters in San Jose. Over the years Adobe’s efforts have reduced water use, electricity and natural gas which earned it the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest accolade for green practices.

The Windspire turbines stand 30 feet tall and are only 4 feet wide so they take up very little space and can be mounted close to each other unlike conventional horizontal turbines which are usually built on heavy bulky concrete bases or have protruding guy wires that need a lot of room to work effectively. The Windspire turbines weigh in at 650 pounds and are propeller free and quiet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m67Jb4xH-Nc[/youtube]

Watch a video of the installed turbines here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m67Jb4xH-Nc

Adobe had the Windspire turbines installed on the sixth-floor patio which is a recreational area above the parking garage. This is a perfect location as the turbines are situated between two office buildings creating a wind tunnel of sorts as wind from the Pacific Ocean pushes between them. As noted by the photos of the turbines, they are aesthetically pleasing and almost look like part of the building.

Between 2001 and 2010 Adobe had saved around $6.7 million due to its energy conservation efforts. Adobe estimates that each of the Windspire turbines installed will produce around 2,500 kWh per year. All of the turbines combined will produce enough energy to power 5 average size homes in the US.

In November, 2008, Union College President Stephen C. Ainlay spoke at an event where he featured the grant winners for ten upcoming student projects to help improve the environmentally friendly goals of the college over the next couple of years.

Two grant winners, Kevin Donovan and Malysa Cheng, were tasked with the job to design and manufacture a vertical axis wind turbine. The project was described as the “Design and implementation of a micro-wind turbine to assess wind power generation on theUnionCollege campus.”

Almost exactly two years later, the installation crew from Titan Power Systems had installed three vertical axis wind turbines.

These three 1.2 kilowatt turbines were built by Windspire, a company in Nevada which specializes in building vertical axis wind turbines. The turbines are 33 feet tall, four feet wide and, as you can see in the video, take up very little space as compared to horizontal wind turbines which can have extending guy wires covering a lot of ground.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5pek8-9WX8[/youtube]

Watch the video on youtube here: http://youtu.be/d5pek8-9WX8

Check out the complete specifications of the Windspire turbines here.

These small turbines are perfect for residential or light commercial use and officials have estimated that the three turbines will be able to supply approximately 40 percent of all electricity to the athletic complex. This should reduce the college’s electric bill by thousands of dollars per year. It cost the college approximately $35,000 for the turbines including installation. According to the owner of Titan Power Systems, the turbines are made from recycled airline parts.

Vertical axis turbines do have advantages over horizontal wind turbines. One such advantage is the implementation of magnetic levitation technology, extremely useful as this provides very little resistance to the wind. This means the turbine will produce more electricity in less wind. They are also much quieter than the horizontal turbines which can be a noisy nuisance if installed too close to residential areas.