Totempower to commercialise small-scale wind turbines

The company plans to enter the market in 2012 and is hoping to secure funding to develop its two wind turbine models – a 2,000kWh pa version for households and a 15,000kWh pa version for commercial use.

‘Our goal is to really consumerise wind power,’ said company founder Wolf Dietrich. ‘We see a big opportunity for small wind to make a contribution to our energy generation as part of a larger solution.’

Totempower’s technology is based on a patented system known as the Passive Air-jet Vortex Generator (PAVOG) developed by Dr Simon Prince, a senior lecturer in aeronautical engineering at City University.

‘PAVOG is basically a series of small ducts that go through the turbine blade and improve the airflow on the topside,’ explained Dietrich. ‘The ducts delay the turbine stall so that it operates efficiently over a wider range of wind speeds.’

A domestic system is expected to be priced at £4,500, and under the current feed-in tariff will provide a financial benefit of £850 annually. Dietrich estimates that there will be an average return on investment of around six years for individual households and three years for communities.