Renewable Energy You Can Afford

When Bruce Boatner set out to create a more efficient vertical axis wind turbine, he was treading territory that hadn’t seen advancement since 1931. But as a Vietnam veteran and helicopter pilot, he had seen, first-hand, the advantages of generating energy with a more efficient process.

Now the engineering manager of the Blackhawk Project LLC, Boatner is testing a new kind of wind turbine that tilts like a helicopter rotor, changing the pitch of the blade and allowing the turbine to self-start.

"I decided to go in and reinvent the concept of the vertical wind turbine," Boatner says. "To do that our wind turbine uses the concept that's never been used, it tilts like a helicopter rotor head, making it start and run by itself." Photo: The Blackhawk Project, LLC

“In a nutshell, it’s a completely new concept that brings new advantages,” Boatner tells Earth911. “With horizontal [wind turbines], we have reached diminishing returns, whereas with vertical, we’re starting with a clean sheet of paper, and no one really knows the potential because we have hit the reset button.”

But perhaps Boatner’s most exciting feat of engineering was his ability to create an efficient technology that will be affordable for consumers.

“We plan to be the market leader for bang of the buck in terms of dollars per watt, because it has been designed around the concept for inexpensive manufacturing,” Boatner says. “If you look at the smaller wind turbines that are available, they look very exotic, and that’s not easy to manufacture. But our blades are extremely simple.”

So simple, in fact the blade is actually made of polystyrene and covered with fiberglass. Boatner compares the blade to a surfboard. During operation, the wind turbine is virtually noiseless, making it ideal for urban environments. Furthermore, its small size allows it to be placed in a setting without creating what Boatner calls “site pollution.”

While the turbine is more cost-effective, consumers can still expect to pay about $8,000 with a 5-year warranty. Currently, wind turbines can run between $6,000 and $22,000, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Researchers with the Idaho National Laboratory are currently testing Boatner’s creation.

“We are hoping to explore some advantages in efficiency,” Boatner says. “We don’t know exactly what it’s potential is because we haven’t tuned it out just yet.”