Clip On Wind Turbine

Cleantec Wind has started an interesting Indiegogo campaign for their small wind generator designed to be clipped onto solar panels.

Cleantec’s strategy is to place horizontal, lightweight, narrow-profile wind generators along the top edges of solar panels that can catch the hot, turbulent air from the solar array beneath it.

Cleantec Wind offers several rewards to those who give to the campaign, including working devices for high level donations. It’s an interesting idea. The electrical structure is already in place for the generator, as the solar panels are already tied to the grid or battery backup system.

The idea is not without problems, however – it’s not clear if the added weight of the generators could create a problem, or if they could potentially block light from reaching the panels beneath them.

The vertical-axis wind turbine is a multi-blade Savonious drag generator. Cleantec Wind claims the device produces 2000 W output, which would be more than a typical solar panel. There is no publicly available test data, so we’ll have to take there word on this. While Cleantec’s stated intentions are to increase efficiency with such curved blades, high-efficiency bearings, magnets, and other typical improvements, it’s also unclear if the added cost of these improvements could be justified.

Despite all this, it remains an viable idea, and one that we would like to see succeed in some form.

See more: Indiegogo