Vertical Axis Wind Turbine market consolidating
Bob MorrisPublished: 21 Aug, 2012
1 min read
Credit: nationalgeographic.com
Helix Wind, a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine manufacturer, has had its assets bought by another VAWT company after it collapsed financially. While such turbines have a visual appeal and take up less space, making them ideal for rooftop installation, they are not as efficient as traditional horizontal axis turbines. Plus, decreased wind flow due to buildings being nearby cuts efficiency even more.
Critics of the design are blunt:
"Why do we keep repeating the same mistakes?" asked small wind turbine builder and author Ian Woofenden. "No vertical axis company has survived in the marketplace for any length of time. All long-term successful wind-electric manufacturers use horizontal axis designs. This is because they work."
Rooftop solar is more inherently practical than rooftop VAWTs. The real future of wind power is probably in gigantic offshore wind turbines, each of which can power thousands of homes.
You Might Also Like
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read