Small-scale wind turbines are attracting Ohio companies
While the effort to attract manufacturers of giant wind turbines to Ohio continues, smaller, more affordable commercial wind generators are already selling.
Green Energy Technologies, an Akron start-up company, will unveil its patented urban WindCube next week at the American Wind Energy Association's trade show in Chicago. It is small enough to sit atop a building and power the businesses inside.
Mark Cironi, the company's president and founder, is eager to get into the market. He will have competitors.
Cincinnati-based Melink Corp., an energy-efficiency and alternative-energy company, is already taking orders for small, 6,500-watt wind turbines made in Switzerland by the Aventa Co. Company President Robert Melink wants the small derricks and blades for the turbines to be built in Ohio.
Another southwest Ohio company, Twenty First Century Energy of Fairborn, is developing its own prototype of a small wind turbine.
And in Erie County, a consortium of 17 communities has hired alternative-energy consultant EPS Co. to look into buying up to 20 small turbines to power public buildings and schools.
None of these small-scale turbines are intended for use on homes, but demand is growing among businesses, industry experts say.
Grants of up to $200,000 are available from the Ohio Department of Development, and systems also could be eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit or federal stimulus money.
"They are popping up all over Ohio," said David Rengel of Huron-based EPS.
"Companies are concerned about how they are going to keep costs in line. If you put a turbine up, the cost of generating will stay the same."
EPS is working with several suppliers and manufacturers, including Wind Energy Solutions, a Holland manufacturer.
The ultimate goal is not just to buy turbines but also to build them in northern Ohio, Rengel said. Wind Energy Solutions has indicated it might be willing to move production here, he said. "Then we hope they would attempt to procure components made in Ohio."
Cironi, of the Green Energy Technologies, will be in good company in Chicago.
Gov. Ted Strickland will co-chair the trade show's opening session Tuesday morning, showcasing Ohio's manufacturing capabilities. More than 70 Ohio companies, most of them parts makers, will have booths. And the Ohio Department of Development plans a major exhibit.
Cironi laid the groundwork for his trip in 2006, when he founded his company and tapped Cleveland-based inventors and engineers to come up with a one-of-a-kind wind generator.
Now, with a $2 million investment from Youngstown-based Roth Brothers, an 83-year-old heating, air-conditioning, roofing and construction company, Green Energy is heading into production and sales. Cleveland companies, including Parker-Hannifin, are making or supplying parts for the WindCube. Final assembly will be at Roth.
The little turbines start producing power with winds of 10 mph or less.
The cube was invented by Clevelander John Fedor, co-founder and longtime owner of Masco Machine, a former automotive machine tool company.
Fedor's cube, measuring 22 feet by 22 feet and just about 7 feet from front to back, can generate 60 kilowatts.
The system's five blades were designed with the help of retired NASA aerospace engineer David Spera. The blades, with just a 15-foot diameter, act more like an airplane wing than a fan blade, adding lift. Fedor's point: The blade design helps to increase the turning force, or torque, as they spin the Parker-Hannifin generator.
The cube also uses a shroud protruding about 3 feet out from the front of the blades. The shroud narrows as it approaches the blade, speeding up the air velocity.
Paul Belair, president of Roth Brothers, said his crews will be able to produce 100 wind cubes per month by next year. He said his staff will install and remotely monitor the generators.