We recently sat down with Environmental Technology and Sustainability, M.S. students, Maksim Aginskiy and Ilya Tsitron, to discuss their innovative vertical axis wind turbine, which could change the face, literally, of wind power.

What is the difference between vertical and horizontal axis wind turbines?

The horizontal axis wind turbine is the most common one. The rotating axis of the horizontal turbine is parallel with the ground and can generally produce more electricity than the vertical turbine, but requires massive tower construction to support the heavy blades and generator and does not produce well in turbulent winds.

The axis of the vertical axis wind turbine is perpendicular to the ground. Vertical turbines can produce well in tumultuous wind conditions and are powered by wind coming from all 360 degrees. They have lower wind startup speeds than horizontal turbines and can be built in locations where taller structures are prohibited.

Most vertical turbines have an average decreased efficiency from horizontal turbines because of additional drag. They are also usually installed closer to the ground, where the wind speed is slower.

Can you describe the turbine you have designed?

Our turbine looks like a rounded tower and its propellers are inside the structure. The turbine can receive wind from any direction and is designed to redirect air up the tower. The structure has several levels, each of which has vertical blades rotating horizontally. There are inclined walls at each level, so the wind has nowhere to go but up.

How does your vertical axis wind turbine differ from other wind turbines?

So far no one has come up with a vertical axis wind turbine design that is at least as efficient and as scalable as a horizontal axis turbine. We believe we have such a technology, and are working hard to prove it.

The problem with most vertical axis wind turbines is that there is a huge limitation to their scalability. Our turbine can be as small as a person or as big as the Empire State Building. The turbine would ideally be less expensive to produce and maintain than other turbines and would produce more energy.

Our turbine is also better for the environment than horizontal axis wind turbines and wouldn’t affect local wildlife. Nets will allow wind to travel through the structure, but not birds. In addition, there are restrictions to where conventional horizontal turbines can be placed. Horizontal turbines often have to be built 200 feet into the seabed to be stable. Our turbine can be built in heavily populated areas, on the roof of a building, or on a ship. Since our structure is stable on its own, it can even be placed on a float in the water.

Have you gotten the word out about your turbine?

We have represented NYIT at many conferences and held several workshops.

We recently attended and hosted a workshop at Farmingdale College. Diana Williams, STEP Program Manager of the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, arranged the workshop and we attended as NYIT representatives. We educated elementary school and junior high school students about environmental sustainability and renewable energy. We presented the wind turbine as an example of renewable energy technology and showed them how it operated. We learned from this workshop that our turbine model would make an excellent educational toy for schools to teach environmental sustainability.

We also presented our turbine prototype at Long Island Technology Day and a meeting of the New York chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers. We also spoke to other engineers and lawmakers about our research at Stony Brook’s Offshore Wind Symposium and Energy Strategic Partnership Conference.

What are your next steps?

The next step in the development of the turbine is to make improvements to the design that increase the energy output and efficiency. We will make improvements based on the results of our experiments in the wind tunnel at the NYIT Old Westbury campus. We will also use the Old Westbury 3-D printer to create our new design and will eventually work on scaling the model up.