Though no longer extant, FloWind at one time was the world's most successful manufacturer and developer of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. FloWind manufactured two models of Darrieus wind turbines during the early 1980s and developed two prototype turbines during the mid to late 1980s. FloWind's Darrieus turbines generated nearly 1 TWh (972 million kWh) during nearly two decades of operation. No VAWT has ever come close to that performance since and it's unlikely that any ever will.
Long awaited, low specific capacity-high specific area turbines are the kind of technology needed to make wind energy an essential low-cost component of moving society toward 100% renewable energy.[more]
FloWind’s development of the Extended Height-to-Diameter (EHD) Vertical Axis Wind Turbine was the last gasp of Darrieus wind turbine development in the US.[more]
I've added photos of historical interest to my web pages on Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) and Darrieus turbines of various designs. . .[more]
“For all wind turbines, other than those used for more decorative purposes, the cost of energy is important.”[more]
This review was a case of cleaning my desktop and before electronically filing away Sandia's year-old report on its work with Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), I'd decided to thumb through it and...[more]
Since Wind Energy Basics was first published in 1999, there has been an explosion of interest in new vertical-axis wind turbines. In that edition, the conclusion illustrating one photograph was...[more]
Note: The following is an excerpt from my 2009 book Wind Energy Basics Revised: A Guide to Home- and Community-scale Wind Energy Systems. I am reprinting it here because of the constant...[more]
An edited version of this article appeared in the February 1999 issue of New Energy and in French in the January-February 1999 issue (No. 129) of Systèmes Solaires. It has been 14 years since the...[more]
The text of this guide was written for attendees of Windpower 98 conference in Bakersfield, California. I updated the material in spring 2001.--Paul Gipe Tehachapi is about one hour's drive from...[more]
The following appeared in an edited version in an 1998 edition of Windpower Monthly Four busses chocked full of windpower devotees, some 200 in all, left Windpower 98 in Bakersfield for a tour of...[more]
An edited version of this article appeared in the Spring 1997 issue of WindStats Newsletter (Vol. 10, No. 2). With signs that repowering may finally be getting underway, removal and restoration...[more]
Conclusion of Sandia's design development contract for FloWind's EHD Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. . .
Note: This critique was originally written in 1996. Little has changed since then except on the former FloWind site as noted. Gullies such as that in these photos conveys a callous disregard for...[more]
"The free benefit of the wind ought not be denied to any man." [more]
These comments were posted to awea-windnet and subsequently noise from the AWT 26 was abated. Eventually the turbines were removed when the manufacturer ceased operation. The installation of a...[more]
An edited version of this article appeared in WindStats Vol 8 No 4, (Autumn 1995). Data from the California Energy Commission's Wind Project Performance report annual summaries for 1985 through 1994...[more]
