Innovative Small Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Uses Lift to Generate Power Providing A Lighter Weight, Less Costly, Rural Wind Power Solution

Rural farming communities, rural homeowners, the farmers, the small business/industries, the schools, and the municipalities need quality alternative energy solution to help offset all or a portion of their electrical power usage. In many instances the high cost of energy prohibits economic recovery. Wind energy has been identified as one of the important sources of renewable energy. Large Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) are becoming fairly common today. Most states have at least one location where large HAWTs are installed and operating. The large HAWTs are very efficient because they have large propeller blades that are shaped like airfoils that have a variable pitch so that they generate power efficiently at most wind speeds. On the other hand, the small "customer-sited" HAWTs does not have variable pitch propeller blades (because of the cost) and are therefore limited to a small range of wind speeds where they can deliver power efficiently. The small VAWT described in this proposal can generate power efficiently at all levels of wind speed because the airfoils of the VAWT described in this proposal can change pitch and can be controlled to deliver maximum efficiency at all wind speeds. Because the generator and controller are located at ground level, the maintenance of the described VAWT is easily performed on these components. Also, because small HAWTs need to be located at 30-40 feet off of the ground, they require a strongly reinforced support system with wire-rope guy wires to help support the weight of the HAWT and the forces of the wind. The lower supported weight of the small VAWT reduces the cost of manufacturing and installation when compared to small HAWT wind turbine installations. Also, because the heavy components of the VAWT such as the generator and controller don't need to be located near the turbine blades, no heavy reinforcements are required to locate the VAWT on the top of a building. Locating the VAWT on top of structures such as barns and other buildings can funnel the wind to the VAWT which will increase the effective wind speed for power generation.