They're too noisy, too big and too clunky. And they kill bats and birds.

Those are key criticisms about harnessing the wind and converting Mother Nature's fury into energy via a wind turbine, which might be better known as a windmill.

Karl Douglass, an engineer with a degree from Drexel University, went about trying to remedy those complaints and he believes he's done that.

Sometime this summer, his Omniwind Energy Systems of Dublin in Central Bucks will begin production on a wind turbine that he says is quiet, relatively compact and environmentally friendly. Douglass said the turbine can produce enough energy to supply about 50 percent of an average household's electrical needs over the course of a year.

The company's idea is to mount a wind turbine on a 30-foot pole and place it right next to a house. The turbine, which looks like a small satellite, would be about six feet tall, making the total installation about 36 feet.

The unique part of this turbine, Douglass said, is its airfoil design - and its capability to produce energy at wind speeds as low as three to five miles per hour.

The design was formulated by Doylestown inventor Francis McCabe, who has several dozen patents. Omniwind's idea is to use the energy as it's produced, so there's no need for battery cells to store it.

"Our goal is to produce one kilowatt at 20 miles per hour of wind speed," said Douglass, who's Omniwind's founder, president and CEO.

Upper Makefield zoning officer David Kuhns said, "We're seeing new products come out, in all sizes and shapes, all the time. Until we have a good handle on exactly what the lead technology will be, we probably won't do anything but look at each property separately."

A prototype of Omniwind's wind turbine should be completed soon and will be placed behind the company building in Dublin. The company should be ready to market the turbines "by the windy fall season," Douglass said. The turbine would cost about $8,700, including installation.

"We think wind energy is wonderful, but on a 90-degree day in summer, those windmills are not moving much," said PECO spokesman Michael Wood. "With each type of alternative energy, they all have a place in our overall energy supply, and wind energy is so much better than it was 10, 15 years ago.

"You wouldn't even have seen windmills in Pennsylvania not long ago, but still it's a small amount in the overall scheme," Wood added. "Solar, wind, biomass are nice, but they're a niche, they only fulfill a small percentage of our needs."