Dramatically increase wind farm output while protecting wildlife

Wind farms in California and other regions of the world exist only in relatively small geographic regions. Most of these resource areas have reached their physical or political limits in their ability to install additional propeller-type, horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). Nonetheless, many have topographies that create excellent near-ground wind speeds. To profit from the energetic wind below their HAWTs, wind farm owners need cost-effective vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) that operate efficiently in high turbulence and do so without wake shedding off the three-dimensionally spinning rotors negatively impacting their existing turbines. They also need turbines that are wildlife friendly. Turning the best near-ground wind into energy should eventually result in lower priced power than solar technologies or new wind farms, less habitat developed, and thousands of MWs of additional renewable power produced well after the sun sets.