Going Where Tall Turbines Can’t
Compact Wind Harvesters® can go where traditional turbines cannot. Wind Harvest projects will establish new markets in areas where limitations and restrictions prevent the installation of tall horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). Read about the spaces where Wind Harvesters will open new niches in the wind market.
Scenic Areas with Protected Views
Wind Harvesters are an excellent option for producing renewable energy in places where concerns about the impact on views halt HAWT projects due to the height and visibility of the turbines. In some areas, legal restrictions protect scenic views and prohibit HAWTs, whose blades generally extend from 300 to 500 feet in the air and can be seen for many miles. As a result, numerous areas with plentiful wind resources have been unable to install wind turbines… until now.
Standing only 57-90 ft tall, Wind Harvesters are significantly shorter than commercial-scale HAWTs and have a much lower impact on views. By placing Wind Harvesters strategically along ridge lines and on hills, the interruption of sight lines can be significantly mitigated or even eliminated.
Restricted Areas due to Aviation
Tall HAWTs negatively impact radar systems due to their long blades, fast-moving tip speeds, and horizontal orientation. Because of this, airports often prohibit these turbines from being installed in nearby areas where they could decrease radar effectiveness, impacting aviation, military communications and defense, or weather forecasts. The taller and larger their rotors are, the more problematic traditional turbines become.
Shorter VAWTs like Wind Harvesters rotate around a vertical axis and have slower blade tip speeds, which studies predict will reduce radar interference. Additionally, their short height — in the range of trees and other near-ground objects — allows them to be easily seen and avoided by aircraft.
Locations near airports have specific height restrictions that limit wind energy production. For example, in windy southern Solano County, CA, there is a height restriction against installing new turbines taller than 100 feet above the ground to protect flights coming into and out of Travis Air Force Base.
Smaller Properties
The rules for placement of wind turbines on a property vary around the world; however, generally local ordinances require that a wind turbine be placed at a distance from the property line equal to the height of the turbine’s blade tips. For example, a 300 foot-tall HAWT must be at least 300 feet away from all sides of a property. This can prevent owners of windy properties from placing mW-scale HAWTs on their land. In contrast, Wind Harvesters can be as short as 56 feet, meaning they would only need to be 56 feet from the property line. Because Wind Harvesters are placed three feet apart from each other, mW-scale rows of them can border parking lots and remain within property setback easements. This energy density will allow many distribution warehouses, data centers, and other energy-intensive industries to take advantage of good local wind resources, provide clean energy, and lower their electrical bills.
Locations with Tight and Twisting Roads
Properties which are only accessibly by narrow, winding roads are often unable to use HAWTs, because the large trucks needed to install and service the turbines can’t navigate the roads to reach the properties. Wind Harvesters can be transported on standard flatbed trucks or in forty-foot land-sea containers. Our turbines are installed with easily-available truck cranes and bucket lifts. All of these vehicles can navigate tight and twisting roads much more easily than vehicles hauling HAWTs. The simplicity and size of the Wind Harvester design opens up opportunities for installation on mountains and ridgelines where radio and telecom towers exist and mid-level wind accelerates.
Windy Islands
With plentiful, near-constant, but often lower speed trade winds and 100% renewable energy goals, islands like Barbados and Hawaii need compact but industrial-scale turbines.
