Mag-Wind

The following are a series of articles on Mag-Wind. I feature Mag-Wind in my book Wind Energy Basics as an example of how to evaluate the wild claims of inventors. I'll give you a hint, it's not a flattering portrayal. It took a long time, but the long arm of the law finally caught up with the promoter of Mag-Wind.

I took an interest in Mag-Wind because I was working in Toronto with the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative at the time. The company selling these "wind turbines" (I am using the term loosely here) was in Ontario on the shores of Lake Erie and, thus, not far from Toronto. I was getting constant requests to comment on their "revolutionary" design and the press this "product" was getting began to affect my work promoting real renewable energy. So, despite my misgivings, I had to take the time to look into their claims. My reaction is found below.

Most such "inventions" last only a few years but Mag-Wind kept resurfacing and as it did it would garner ever more high-profile "endorsements". This would be laughable if real money wasn't involved--and in the end it was the search for new money that led them afoul of the FBI.