New blade configuration promotes peak power efficiency of vertical axis wind turbines

Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) are the more common form of wind energy production, but attention is increasingly given to vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), which have their main rotor shaft positioned transverse the wind. VAWTs can accept wind coming from any direction and operate in harsher wind conditions. However, VAWT usage grows slower than that of HAWTs, especially in large scale, because they also have shortcomings, like trouble self-starting and lower power efficiency. To increase power efficiency, researchers from universities in China and Denmark proposed and evaluated a new blade design for H-type VAWTs. They report their findings in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.