Optiwind Compact Wind Accelerating Turbine
Optiwind Compact Wind Accelerating Turbine
Localized wind energy is possible for schools, government buildings, and other commercial structures with the Optiwind Compact Wind Accelerating Turbine. Bigger and more powerful than the Jellyfish, but just as clean and practical, the medium-sized compact wind turbine is perfect for many distributed generation applications (think hospitals, farms, hotels and more).
There are two versions of the Optiwind turbine available: the 150 and the 300 (referring to kilowatts generated). The cost is comparative to what you’d spend on grid-tied electricity. While compact, the wind accelerating turbine models are very powerful. The 150 is recommended for operations that require about $35,000 of electricity per year; the 300 is for those operations that need $75,000 of power, or more.
As noted on the product’s website, the Optiwind compact wind accelerating turbine may be right for you if your property has the following factors:
1) Good wind. You have class 2 or better wind at the spot where you want to place the turbine (Optiwind can help you figure this out).
2) Right demand. You spend (or will spend as you grow) roughly $40,000 to $200,000 per year on electricity.
3) Enough room. Depending on your local zoning laws, you may need up to 3.5 acres of land beyond your existing building(s).
What makes the Optiwind turbine unique is the fact that it can accelerate existing wind speeds to unlock the power of this renewable resource in developed areas where conditions are less windy. Before 2007, wind energy was primarily generated by mega-wind farms from which the power would have to be transmitted to end-users over the grid. With the Optiwind technology, a whole new wind market is reached, with far less costs, including those related to installation and maintenance.
Wind energy growth is increasing at a fast pace in the United States. People are looking to both save money and reduce carbon output as a result of the economic and climate crises facing our world.
Consider this:
“In the United States alone, the wind industry is a $9 billion/year industry, growing at 45% per year. In 2007, the U.S. led the world in wind power installations for the third year in a row. Global wind capacity increased by more than 20,000 megawatts (MW), with 5,244 MW installed in the U.S. Spain and China were the second and third largest markets last year with 3,515 MW and 3,449 MW of wind power capacity added respectively. All three broke the single-country record for new wind power installed in one year, set in 2002 by Germany (3,244 MW).”
Wind energy could be the answer for your operations. Optiwind helps expand the number of properties that may be suitable for using wind energy with its accelerating technologies (capable of increasing speeds by 75%). As a result, shorter structures can be installed, noise is reduced, and potential impacts to birds and bats are minimized even further, compared to conventional wind turbines.
With government incentives and tax rebates available through the Stimulus Package, this could be your year to make the investment.
When you do, be sure to add your property to our interactive renewable energy maps!
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I cannot believe how horrible this design looks. I don’t think I would want this within a mile of any school my kids attend. Is Optiwind kidding? One look at that windmill next to the basketball court convinced me this is a very bad idea.
I hear this company has not built any of these yet, and that they cannot get approval in their own town to put the first one up.. I think this is a big red flag for anyone else thinking about one. It is a pretty ugly windmill and I agree I wouldn’t want one near a school. Why would you have to put one near a school anyway?
Can you imagine this thing near a school? The one on the basketball courts looks like some alien spaceship about to consume the Earth. Watch out for the kids! I love windmills, and windpower seems like it will be important in our future, but this thing is an eyesore.
Are you kidding me?? You folks are actually objecting to this windmill because of how it looks, and how you think kids will think it looks? How about the ‘aesthetics’ of a smoke stack at the coal fired plant next to the high school ball field in Salem MA where one year they found move than half of the girls soccer team had asthma because they were breathing the polluted air? How about the typical objections to visual impact people had to traditional three blade wind mills, but when they put one up right in the middle of Jiminy Peak ski resort in Maine the snow boarding kids LOVED it (see image); or the windmill the town of Medford just put up right next to McGlynn school (see image) and when I was there with the Mayor 20 kids came running up to him thanking him for putting up the wind mill – locals now have block parties with guests from out of town and boast about ‘their windmill next to the school’; and now the town wants to put in a major solar field.
Let the kids speak for themselves. I think they will tell you that they love anything that is clean, renewable energy. If you support windmills, support them. Aestetics is not a substantive argument.
I think Ken is missing the point here. Why take a smokestack down and put up one of those Optiwind things. In my opinion it looks “worse” than a smokestack. Also, no one is saying no to wind. In fact, most of the comments are favorable to using wind energy, just not an ugly design.. By all means build one of the designs like they have on Jiminy Peak. I’ve actually seen it. It looks pretty good. A little huge, but good. But this Optiwind design is grotesque. It looks like a monument to junk.
I agree. Ken is totally missing the point of the other comments here. As a school administrator, I would never want to see something like this Optiwind thing built on school property. Not even if it is the most efficient windmill on Earth. Why build something that intrusive on the environment? When my student look out the window, I want them to see grass, trees and sky, not this “device”. Even the ones in the photo of Jiminy Peak are way too distracting.. We have enough distractions already in our classrooms. Back to the drawing board on this one, if you ask me.
Sorry guys, I think Ken is the only one talking sense here. I cannot believe that people are focused on aesthetics instead of the fundamental need for renewable energy. Do you think melting glaciers look good? Perhaps its easier to put heads in the sand when the pictures of global warming are not as apparent. Of course window views of grass and trees are ideal, but maybe we should paint the picture of what the surroundings will look like 50 years from now when we keep shunning “ugly” windmills so we can continue pumping in dirty, coal-based electricity.
When I consider the cost-benefit trade-off here, Optiwind (or any other distributed generation renewable energy source) wins hands-down!
Oh, and the “grotesque” design is in part based on the accelerating function. It turns non-wind sites into those that can benefit from wind energy.
Stephanie, do you not hear what the other folks on this blog are saying? Get a windmill… Get two…Three.
Just get one that doesn’t spoil the landscape.
We need to make intelligent choices in this transition from fossil fuels to the future renewables. But we don’t want to make choices that creat new problems, like a spoiled viewscape. All choices have pluses and minuses…. The minuses of the Optiwind design lead us to choose something else. Solar power perhaps? A “better” wind design perhaps?…. But let’s not destroy the view… I still cannot believe you could possibly consider building one of these at a school (or a hospital.. gosh?) …let alone a hotel? Have you seen the pictures of this thing??? Get a grip.
I am just back online, so I will reitterate my point to Terry, Gabe and Casey – let the kids decide for themselves. Just ask them and they will tell you in no unsimple terms – our generation screwed this energy thing up, the next generation will decide how to fix it. And that includes design. If you think you speak for the kids, consider rock n roll, clothing, body art, etc. – we all think we know what kids want and the next generation proves us wrong time and again.
In addition, as a wind developer I can tell you that ANY technology that brings more sites into play based on its ability to capture wind from locations without great resources is beautiful with a capital B. It isnt easy. There are few locations in the US especially in heavily populated areas where wind turbines can actually work. If we need to settle for a non-optimal design to get the thing up – build baby build.
And that is the point of this whole blog. The time for discussion about design, kids, visual impact, etc. is absolutely over. If you support windmills, support them – everything else is noise. Its time to just build baby build.
I too can’t believe the vehement opposition to something that is going to provide more clean energy in more areas for less cost. Maybe it isn’t as attractive as an old-school windmill, but those aren’t appropriate for the spaces that the Optiwind might work in. Seriously? You think that kids are going to care more about their view from the football field than providing them with a future of cleaner air and water? Not getting that at all.
So it’s a tower. Like a smokestack or a lighting tower or cell tower. But unlike those structures it generates power without pollution because it doesn’t consume energy, it generates it. Many of these objections on this blog and elsewhere focus on the aesthetics of the windmills which to me sounds like the NIMBY concerns of the 80s and 90s in regards to cell phone towers. As technologies improve they’ll get better but there has to be a first generation before there is second and so on.
I almost never hear complaints about cell phone towers anymore – even the ridiculous fake pine tree towers that stick out like sore thumbs. Could it be because everyone realizes that having cell phone towers means fewer dropped calls and faster connectivity for their smartphones? In a few years tri-blade designs will seem like old hat and new wind-energy innovations will continue to push the envelope. In the meantime put this design in at a little league ballfield near you. The open space is perfect and it’s not like those light towers aren’t already spoiling the view.
Ugly is Ugly… Many designs out there …. Just get a reasonably good on and build away…
These people are just trying to justify the Optiwind approach, which obviously has a serious drawback…. I.E., It an eyesore.
By the way, people gave up on complaining about cell towers for one reason…. They had no say. Wind should not be done in a manner similar to cell towers. I think we learned some valuable lessons with that disaster. Communities should ban the really bad looking designs, like this one, and have approved designs that have a minimum impact on the viewscape. Toward the end of the cell tower growth phase this is what worked well (i.e., monopoles versus large latice monsters). We should do it here. Don’t buy into this transparent argument that says let the kids decide. This is Optiwind trying to put lipstick on an obvious pig.
I teach at a fairly large elementary school in Connecticut, with an absolutely beautiful campus. We need alternative, environmentally friendly, and cheaper, energy sources badly. Our budgets are being threatened by high energy costs, but there is no way I could see this type of windmill located at our facility.
We have spoken with windmill vendors this past year to see what is out there in the marketplace, and are very interested in wind and/or solar energy for use at the school. However, none of the designs we’ve seen comes close to looking this bad.
I cannot agree with those who say it doesn’t matter how the technology looks. In this case, I would say “even the kids” would say NO.
I work for a company that designs and installs alternative energy systems for customers just like the ones Optiwind is claiming to target on their website — schools, manufacturers, water treatment plants, etc… and I can tell you that what they’re doing is potentially a real breakthrough. My business has been looking for a wind turbine technology for our portfolio that is cost competitive with the grid and we haven’t found one — yet. If Optiwind can deliver on their promise, they would be the first.
So, to all you art critics out there who want to judge this technology on its looks, I would encourage you to ask yourself WHY they’ve designed it the way they have. Every part of this design appears to me to be functional and there for a reason. I specialize in schools and in most of the country, “regular” turbines just don’t make economic sense for them. School boards simply can’t justify the expense. “Regular” turbines are designed to be installed in large numbers where their high installation and maintenance costs can be shared. The type of technology Optiwind is proposing would not have any of this expense, opening the door to a lot of customers who want wind power but can’t afford it today.
As with every technology, this design won’t be right for every town and every potential location, but I’m really baffled by why those who are opposed to this design are so ANGRILY opposed. Are you so intolerant that you can’t say, ‘I wouldn’t vote for this in my community, but I respect the right of others to vote for it?’ You folks need to lighten up a bit and realize that there are things you don’t understand and valid opinions out there that are in opposition to yours.
I see what Mark is saying and I also picked up on a lot of anger in some of these postings, which is weird. What’s that about?!
My son is 15 and he thought this looked “pretty cool”. My first impression wasn’t “love at first sight” but I think I understand why they’ve put together this new design and I wouldn’t mind having one around my town. We certainly have the wind!
I agree that we should not get in to the same situation as cell towers where people had no say. But at the smae time the wind and other renewable energy detractors who make such frivelous arguments as viewshed impact need to be reminded of what this country has already done in the name of “progress”. I am by no means advocating this approach, but just look at what use to happen when we had a national imperative as we have today: http://www.buildbabybuild.com/uncategorized/build-baby-build
Get a grip folks beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t find this thing ugly at all– sort of reminds me of a grain elevator . It’s much less offensive IMHO than those fields full of big wind turbines. I’m with Ken
Are you all really that shallow that you believe it needs to be aesthetically pleasing? Surely functionality is far more important and if that means a geeky design then so be it. I see nothing wrong with the design and what is more important are the results if it can deliver then that out weighs any concern about the looks. What the hell are you looking for anyway?
I read through this blog in complete amazement. There seem to be many, many choices for windmills out there in the marketplace. So buy the one you think performs, and looks best for your particular application. In some cases, performance is all that matters, or is most important. In other cases, appearance is critical, and will dominate the decision. For me, I believe that wind is essential to our future and am very confident that we can build high performance windmills that also fit well into the viewscape. The Optiwind design, unfortunately, is not high on my list. It’s just too “out there” to fit into the market I see developing for wind… Maybe in extremely remote locations????
Mark Z puts forth the typical “engineer’s” argument for developing products. “It looks that way because it’s designed to get the most performance”. From a business perspective you cannot survive with “the engineers” perspective alone…. Good design is a balance between style and function. In this case, obviously Optiwind is heavy on the engineering side…. So heavy on the engineering side that they are likely to fall over backwards… Good luck with that thing….
I wouldn’t want one anywhere near any of the schools in our town, and would fight hard to prevent anyone trying to put one up here….. Too many better looking and “nearly as efficient” designs out there… and prices of all of these are dropping rapidly.
Not sure any of the naysayers are paying attention to the debate here. Its not just an aesthetics question. Nor is it a price question. “Traditional” windmills that many above may prefer do not work in every location. That is why the Optiwind design is so genius. It can convert a site that may not otherwise be appropriate for wind energy to one at which RE is viable. This may be the only design that works, in other words.
Bottom line – do you want to get off fossil fuels or not? Seems that some of the commenters would say no, if they don’t like the design or view.
Stephanie never gives up…. I like that.
However…. One sufficient reason is enough to stop thinking about using Optiwind, especially at a school. Above you have several. It’s not a good choice from what I have seen here.
We will have to let the market decide, but I would be surprised if any school board is going to go in this direction. Solar is so much better an alternative. It is low profile, therefore less intrusive, less unsightly (Optiwind is beyond unsightly as many of the comments have expressed).
Wind is also totally clean and does not require continuous maintenance. Optiwind avoids discussion of the issue of maintenance, because they know that will be the killer of any windmill. Many, many windmills that have been put up sit idle because they require constant maintenance due to weather and mechanical wear. Solar requires virtually none.
Go solar, go long…. Sorry Stephanie.
Perhaps if local communities painted murals on the windmills that had significance to the area such as what was done to those large water reservoirs then people wouldn’t find them as such an eyesore. Think about a school logo or a flag or fake sky scene. You are only limited by your imaginations.
Easy sollution, let’s clean up the enviorment and stop polluting it! I would love to see more of the wind towers in my area and I welcome them.
OMG!!! You friggin idiots want this crap and then piss and moan about how it looks. It shows what is really important to you. You are a bunch of hypocrites. I hope they put them up outside every one of your windows.
And remember folks, like Obama and Global Warming…..the “Green Movement” is a FRAUD. It is just a way for Liberals to make a buttload of money and not feel guilty about it. You know it and we know it.
Apparently “Casper” is a rich ghost! According to the Dept. of Energy averages, solar costs are at least 3x wind, BEFORE Optiwind’s less expensive design comes into play. No school board I’ve ever seen will select a “solution” that is 3 times more expensive than the prevailing market, even if our tax dollars are used to subsidize it and bring the costs down some.
Ultimately, the technologies that can stand on their own economic merit will be the winners and solar, which starts with a theoretical capacity that is only half of wind’s (think windy nights!), simply isn’t a long term, viable option.
Interesting discussion…
I actually heard the CEO of Optiwind recently at a meeting at Yale and he mentioned the maintenance issue that Casper mistakenly mentions above. Apparently the 3 biggest maintenance costs with conventional turbines are gear problems and replacement, lighting damage to the blades, and something about blade rotation. By virtue of its different design, Optiwind can’t run into any of these issues and expects to require nothing more than an annual maintenance tune-up. Plus, because they have multiple fans and generators, if one goes down, the whole unit doesn’t stop producing power the way conventional turbines do.
As usual, it sounds like actually having facts creates a more accurate view. Sorry Casper.
Maybe it’s a good idea for someone to come forward, and put some “facts” down before we count all those “chickens”.
Fact: Optiwind has never built one of these things, and only assumes it won’t need a lot of maintenance. The other windmill vendors also thought they didn’t need much maintenance, that is until they actually built one. Optiwind is due for some surprises as well.
Fact: Optiwind calculates cost versus solar systems based on theory. Again, they have never built one. According to the company, they have built a “two foot high model” that represents their tests… What a joke. Build one, and then come tell us how much it actuially costs.
Fact: The Optiwind design is particularly ugly. The company keeps saying that doesn’t matter. The neighbors and the public says it does. They do not have issue with traditional windmills.
Fact: Optiwind is backed by a rich Boston finance company with tons of money which they use to push neighbors around who disagree with them. So who is acting like the “greedy rich” in Goshen?
Fact: Residents of Goshen, CT are working hard to keep Optiwind from building their ugly windmill in their town. These are residents who are already using alternative energy systems, and who respect the environment. They have put their money where their mouth is. Why are they fighting so hard? The Optiwind design is really ugly!
For all of you who think Solar is the more expensive option, get ready for some surprises. The cost of Solar is going to drop by 30-50% per year for the next ten years, due to evolving technology and manufacturing improvements. This is not true for wind. In fact, the price for wind is going up, due to materials costs. Long term it’s going to be solar… And it looks a lot better, and requires no maintenance!
Have you ever seen a wind farm? Gosh!
I can only imagine an Optiwind – wind farm….. Gosh squared!
We have been working on alternative energy projects for our local high school for the past three years. Last year we installed our first solar energy projevct on our gymnasium roof and got rave reviews. We are going to install a phase two project next year. The solar panels we chose blend neatly into the roof structure and that is a big part of achieving overwhelming community acceptance and support for phase two. You do need to consider aestetics when selecting an energy system.
After seeing what Optiwind has been designing, I am very confident we made the right selection. I cannot imagine something like that placed beside our school. Optiwind has missed something very important here.
I also attended the speaking session in Connecticut that Amy T described above, where Optiwind’s CEO presented his concept.
You should have heard the snikering in the crowd…. and some laughs.
Just about everyone I spoke with remarked about how huge and intrusive the design is, and how difficult it would be to get it past a zoning board, let alone public acceptance.
This is just another technically focused company that rejects the “total design” philosophy which says a design must fit well in all its primary aspects to be competitive…. Here, Optiwind just rejects public’s sentiment over the need for a favorable appearance…
In Goshen, the neighbors are fighting hard to keep Optiwind out….. I can see why.
Yesterday, the Planning Board in Goshen rejected Optiwind’s permit request to construct one of its windmills in the town. The vote was “unanimous” – 5 to 0 – to reject the request!
The reason the permit was overwhelmingly rejected, was because the Optiwind design would have had an adverse affect on the property values and the character of the neighborhood.
This should pretty much close the argument above about what’s important in a windmill design. It needs to fit into the landscape.
It cannot be an eyesore.
Sounds like Goshen made the right call based on the majority of the comments above.
Once I looked at the images included here, I couldn’t believe they were actually going to give Optiiwind a permit for that thing. Anything is possible these days when money is involved.
Go Goshen!
I would have to agree with Stephanie. The plain reality is that the traditional 3 bladed wind turbines cannot work everywhere. They often require a very substantial wind and need to be very large , sometimes 600 ft tall with 300 ft blades, to work efficiently. It seems this company has created a way to allow more areas to have wind power. That being said this country needs distributed alternative energy sources all over the country not just the heartland. I say we look at our future as a so our kids and grandkids can live in a place where yes there might be a visual distraction but at least they can breathe clean air and don’t have to God forbid watch their brother and sister die on foreign soil over oil.
We all need to think long term and as American lets lead the way, regardless of what china and the rest of the world is doing.. let them fight over the oil and let them pay the high prices. If we don’t change our ways soon we won’t even care about visual appeal because we won’t be able to see through the smog, and pollution. Let the US be independent again, it is my hope that one day all of our energy will come from here and not overseas. GO GREEN or GO TO THE MIDDLE EAST
Everyone makes excuses for bad engineering and design.
Let the market decide…. Sounds like it already has…. Optiwind defeated because of ugly design.
Let’s not worry about it.
We have plenty of better designs to consider and then there is solar technology, the ultimate winner to be in all of this.
You do have to admit this thing is unbelievably ugly. It looks like a giant emergency siren.
No one is going to want to be anywhere near this thing.
By DAN IVERS
TORRINGTON — The Optiwind company cleared what was likely its biggest hurdle toward the eventual construction of a 199-foot wind turbine Wednesday night as the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission granted it a special zoning exception.
The proposal was unanimously approved with little discussion from the commission and no public comment. A public hearing was held June 10 with a majority of residents voicing their support for the plan.
The exception was needed because the turbine would be taller than standing zoning regulations allow in the area.
Optiwind will now construct a meteorological tower at the 725 Klug Hill Road site to gauge wind conditions there as they wait to obtain a building permit from the city.
“You just saw the ball go over the hill,” said Optiwind vice president David Hurwitt, who credited the Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission for the relatively painless process thus far. “I think the process was clearly defined.”
Earlier efforts by the company to build a turbine in neighboring Goshen failed as residents opposed the project.
The meteorological tower on Klug Hill Road will likely be put up within the next week, Hurwitt said.
George “Butch” Klug, a dairy farmer who owns the 167-acre property where the turbine will likely be constructed and has supported the proposed plan, said he was pleased by the ruling. The turbine will likely help create jobs in the area in addition to easing energy costs at his farm, he said.
Discussion from the Planning and Zoning board was limited before a motion to approve the exception was made, with City Planner Martin Connor reading a memo he had written supporting the move.
“In my opinion, the… requirements have been met,” he said.
Commission member Doris Murphy briefly expressed some concern over potential noise coming from the turbine, because Optiwind has not provided the city with data as to how loud it would actually be. But Chairman Richard Calkins said it shouldn’t be a concern, citing tests done by students at top engineering college Clarkson University.
“It’s never been tested full scale… but I’m comfortable with the results,” he said.
In any case, the resident who would be most affected by noise from the turbine would be Klug, who originally approached Optiwind about building it, he said.
Connor laid out the conditions of the approval prior to the vote, stipulating that in the event that the turbine is ever abandoned or no longer in use, the city must be properly notified and the structure removed.
Dan Ivers can be reached by e-mail at editor@registercitizen.com.
Torrington just made a very bad mistake… It caved in to special interests, and now it is going to be the proud owner of the ugliest windmill in America….
A new tourist attraction. 200 feet of trash, on what was once a beautiful hill.
Optiwind is no favorite in the city… and the opposition is growing, now that neighbors got a taste of the way they were treated in this process..
Pay close attention to the fact that the Optiwind design has never been tested… This is going to be a headline around here when this finally goes up.