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Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine for power generation II: Challenges in
HAWT and the opportunity of multi-megawatt Darrieus VAWT development

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DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2014.10.039

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 Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine for power generation II: Challenges
in HAWT and the opportunity of multi-megawatt Darrieus VAWT
development
Willy Tjiu a, *, Tjukup Marnoto b, Sohif Mat a, Mohd Hafidz Ruslan a,
Kamaruzzaman Sopian a
a
Solar Energy Research Insititute (SERI), National University of Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, 43600, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Industrial Technology, “Veteran” National Development University, UPN Jogjakarta, 55283, Indonesia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents several multi-megawatt offshore Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) projects
Received 15 December 2013 currently under way. The projects are re-attempting large scale VAWT since Eole, the only multi-
Accepted 16 October 2014 megawatt Darrieus VAWT ever built, which was shut down in 1993. In addition, the project's timing is
Available online
at the moment when horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) is facing major challenges in multi-megawatt
range, especially for offshore wind power generation. The obstacles of large scale HAWT are elaborated,
Keywords:
and the reasons of why Darrieus VAWT is key to the challenges are also explained. In addition, impacts of
Darrieus
HAWT development on Darrieus VAWT are described. Lastly, the innovative designs on Darrieus VAWT
VAWT
HAWT
are presented, which include current status of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), novel offshore vertical
NOVA axis (NOVA), Vertax and Vertiwind.
Vertiwind © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Vertax

1. Introduction
The development of Darrieus VAWT has not been smooth.
Despite being invented in the 1920s, the VAWT was not developed
until in the 1970s. Design complexity and manufacturing costs
prevented Darrieus VAWT to be as competitive as HAWT. In addi-
tion, several failures during the period worsened the public confi-
dence in Darrieus VAWT. Furthermore, success stories of HAWT
caused Darrieus VAWT fell into another vacuum, and virtually no
governments funding was allocated for Darrieus VAWT develop-
ment since the mid-1990s.
Supports for Darrieus VAWT have been much lesser than HAWT.
In the US, the funding of $300 thousand for wind energy systems in
the early 1970s went to HAWT development. In 1977, 90% of $15
million funding went to HAWT, while only 10% was for VAWT
development. In addition, VAWT Program received only $8 million
out of $87 million funding in the FY81 budget available for wind
energy systems [1]. Similar condition occurred in the UK, in which
VAWT development was very less supported than HAWT. From the
£17 million fund available for wind energy systems in 1985, 16% of
the amount was spent on VAWT development, 23% on generic
studies and 61% on HAWT development [2].
The limited fund had restricted developers in exploring the
various configurations of Darrieus VAWT (details on these configu-
rations are available in Part I of this article). In addition, financial
constraint had hindered follow-up improvements on certain fail-
ures. On the other hand, generous funding has enabled HAWT de-
velopers to experiment with various materials and designs,
especially on the blades. Blade manufacturing technology using
composite materials has increased HAWT power rating at an
astonishing rate. By 2010, a three-bladed HAWT with power
generating capacity larger than 5 MW has been produced
commercially [3]. However, despite the vigorous development, rotor
upsizing has worried experts in HAWT technology on the multi-
megawatt range wind turbines. Nevertheless, the development in
term of larger rotor diameter has been slowing in recent years.
2. Challenges in multi-megawatt HAWT

2.1. Blade weight challenge

* Corresponding author. SERI, Level 3, Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel.: þ60 3 8921 4596;
fax: þ60 3 8921 4593. At present, HAWT development has achieved significant
E-mail address: willy_tjiu@yahoo.com (W. Tjiu). reduction in COE thanks to the GFRP material used for the blades.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2014.10.039
0960-1481/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571 561

However, structural strength of the material has been pushed to the

limit as the blades become longer in multi-megawatt rating. Lim-
itations associated with HAWT start with the fact that a blade acts
similarly to a cantilever beam. As the blade rotates, it undergoes
several modes of bending stresses, mostly flapwise bending due to
the wind and edgewise bending due to gravity. Blade's weight
growth increases cubically with the blade's length [4], and will
become the restricting factor to the extent of material's properties
to endure more than 108 cycles of gravitational load on the blade
over its lifetime [5]. Nevertheless, typical composite blades
currently used are able to operate successfully during the service
time although with some damages found by visual inspection [6].
As the blade becomes longer, it must be made stronger in order
to withstand the gravity by increasing the amount of material used,
which in turn, increasing the weight and manufacturing cost of the
blade. The issue has been the main concern of many researchers on Fig. 2. Weight trends of various HAWT blades in respect to their length [4].
HAWT [7e24]. In addition, the rotating heavy structure creates
lateral and longitudinal bending moments on the tower, which is
exacerbated by torsion during yawing motion. Fig. 1 shows the
forces acting on HAWT components [25]. The figure illustrates
complexity in design considerations of HAWT, especially when the
rotor gets bigger in multi-megawatt range. In particular, design
risks increase significantly when the rotor diameter is over 125 m.
This is due to some physical characteristics previously irrelevant to
small scale HAWTs cannot be neglected in the design of large scale
rotor.
In ensuring the development of HAWT in multi-megawatt
range, the US Department of Energy (DOE) conducted a program
called WindPACT to assist wind power industry in lowering the COE
Fig. 3. Comparison of baseline airfoil called TR-35 and the modification into a TR-35-
[26]. The program emphasizes on several factors, including 10 flatback airfoil [4].
advanced blades design and manufacturing. Efforts have been put
into altering blade design in order to achieve required stiffness in
longer blade, while restraining the weight increase. Fig. 2 shows
Another way to improve HAWT blade design is via selective
weight comparison of WindPACT designs to commercial HAWT
embedding of carbon fiber in the blade in a cost-effective manner.
blades as a function of rotor radius. The figure shows that final
At present, all-carbon fiber is prohibitively expensive for multi-
WindPACT blade design achieves significant mass reduction in all
megawatt scale HAWT blades [27]. Carbon fiber is more expen-
blade length compared to the LM advanced blade design, which is
sive than glass fiber, so that it is only used in certain locations, e.g.
the largest wind turbine blade manufacturer in the world. For
load-bearing spar. The higher strength to weight ratio overcomes
example, WindPACT final design blade weighs about 9000 kg for a
the cost of using glass fiber only while reducing the overall weight
60 m blade, while LM advanced blade weighs about 15,500 kg for
of the blade. Table 1 shows a summary of major materials used in a
the same blade length [4].
typical commercial HAWT wind turbine, and the cost of each ma-
WindPACT's new blade concept shown in Fig. 3 features a flat
terial at certain blade length. The numbers depict the correlation of
trailing edge used for increasing flapwise stiffness, in which x/c and
blade length to weight and manufacturing cost, with overall
y/c are the normalized length and width of the airfoil, respectively.
exponential growth of 2.96 [28].
Flat trailing edge is implemented to anticipate exponential weight
In addition to the weight of materials, a HAWT blade design
increase that is proportional to the increase of manufacturing cost,
should take into consideration the transition of aerodynamic shape
and eventually the cost of power generation. The design reduces
from root to tip of the blade as well as the root section connection
exponential weight growth from the power of about 3e2.5 [4].
to the internal beam structure. The complexities contribute to
However, the new concept appears to increase trailing edge vortex
higher manufacturing cost. Fig. 4 shows a blade cost in proportion
that places a trade-off between cost and performance aspects.
to the total cost. As shown in the figure, longer blade takes up more
portion of total cost, which means blade manufacturing will be
prohibitive after certain length.

2.2. Transportation, installation and maintenance challenges

Transportation of wind turbine components is a significant

Fig. 1. Forces on HAWT structure [25].
challenge in current HAWT development. It is limited by the ca-
pacity of public roadways infrastructure to accommodate the
transfer of wind turbine components from the manufacturing plant
to installation site. The constraints include overall dimension and
weight of the transport vehicle and turbine components, especially
the blades and tower. In addition, assembly costs for multi-
megawatt HAWT rise sharply with tower height and rotor weight.
For example, rental of a 300-ft crane capable of lifting 200 tons load
562 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571

Table 1
Weight and cost of HAWT blade materials [28].

Material category 30 m 50 m 70 m Growth exponent

Weight (kg) Cost ($) Weight (kg) Cost ($) Weight (kg) Cost ($)

Fiberglass 2523 7374 11,590 33,700 30,857 89,530 2.96

Core 190 991 864 4828 2313 14,531 2.95
Resin 1252 2329 5800 10,785 15,527 28,874 2.97
Adhesive 77 674 189 1660 363 3193 1.84
Root Studs 66 874 414 4550 1177 12,950 3.40
Total 4108 $12,241 18,856 $55,523 50,238 $149,079 2.96

can reach $80,000 per day. Delay due to bad weather or technical
problems increase the assembly costs significantly [29].
Transportation cost of onshore HAWT rises sharply for blade
length over 45 m and becomes prohibitive beyond 61 m [27]. In
term of blade chord, root section width of about 4.5 m limits the
transportation on public roadways [28]. For similar reason, rotor
tower is usually manufactured in 20e30 m segments [29]. Fig. 5
shows the constraint of root diameter in respect to blade length,
which generally limits rotor diameter of commercial HAWTs to
about 132 m. Table 2 lists the current commercial HAWTs power
rating by 10 major manufacturers in the world [30], while Fig. 6
shows the trend of rotor diameter increment since 1980 [30]. The
data indicates that current onshore HAWT development may have
been restrained by transportation hurdle.
Alternatives have been proposed to reduce transportation costs
such as: (i) making a blade into two or more sections and (ii) on-site
manufacturing of jointless one-piece blade. The option of
manufacturing segmented blade still presents significant diffi-
culties in designing and fabricating joints. Conventional metal
fasteners can cause internal stresses due to the difference of elas-
ticity with composite materials in the blade [29]. On-site
manufacturing in a temporary facility in remote area near turbine
installation site has been done by TPI Composites, Inc. [31].
Fig. 4. Percentage of blade to total installation cost in respect to HAWT blade length
[28].
However, the method is not effective due to logistics difficulties. In
addition, the dimensions of a manufacturing plant increase
considerably as the blade size increases. For example,
manufacturing plant for 70 m blades requires a land area of about
five football fields (302  93.9 m) [28].
After successfully demonstrated on-site remote manufacturing,
TPI concluded that building a regional manufacturing facility is a
better approach [31]. Although on-site manufacturing facility
eliminates most of the transportation costs of turbine components
to the installation site, the high logistical costs in manufacturing the
components overwhelms the benefits gained. On the other hand,
by building regional manufacturing plant which produces turbine
components for a specific region, the costs related to transportation
and logistics can be managed efficiently.
2.3. Offshore HAWT challenge
Offshore wind will be the next huge source of renewable energy,
considering the rapid utilization of land for onshore wind power.
Offshore wind power has numerous attractive considerations,
including: i) higher wind speed, ii) less impacts to human,
including land use, noise, scenery obstruction and reduction in
property value near a wind farm, and iii) many cities in the world
are located near to the shore. Offshore HAWT and wind resources
have been widely investigated for the prospects, mainly in the
Europe [32e47]. Surveys conducted have shown that general public
strongly prefers offshore to the onshore wind power [48,49]. In
addition, submerged offshore wind turbine tower and foundation
promote biodiversity by providing habitats for the marine life,
which compensate the environmental damage due to turbine
installation [50].
However, despite the advantages, offshore winds induce big
waves, storms and corrosion by sea water. It is a major challenge
considering the top-heavy HAWT undergoes frequent motions due
to surge, sway and heave. In addition, offshore wind turbines are
hardly accessible, so that components reliability is an important
factor. Therefore, offshore wind turbine system costs more than the
onshore counterpart, especially for the support foundation and
operation and maintenance (O&M).

Table 2
Major wind turbine manufacturers in the world by 2011 [30].

Manufacturer Model Rating (MW) Rotor diameter (m)

Vestas V112 3 112

GE 2.5xl 2.5 100
Gamesa G128 4.5 128
Enercon E-126 7.5 127
Suzlon S88 2.1 88
Siemens SWT-3.6-107 3.6 107
Sinovel SL3000/113 3 113
Acciona AW-119/3000 3 119
Nordex N100 2.5 100
REpower 6M 6.15 126
Fig. 5. Root diameter constraint on transportation in respect to blade length [28].
 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571
Fig. 6. Timeline of HAWT development since 1980 in respect to rotor diameter [30].
Top-heavy and tall structure are the main challenges for offshore
HAWT. For example, a typical commercially available 2 MW three-
bladed HAWT has rotor diameter of about 90 m. At such size, the
rotor (blades and hub) weighs about 36 tons, and the nacelle
weighs about 70 tons [51]. At deep sea installation where the tur-
bine is supported by a floating foundation, high center of gravity
(COG) greatly affects the stability. Therefore, tower height is usually
kept as short as possible since offshore wind shear is lower than the
onshore counterpart. In addition to improving the stability, shorter
tower is also cheaper and reduces foundation load, since no sig-
nificant energy gain is achieved by further increasing the hub
height [30]. For comparison, typical three-, four- and five-section
tubular modular towers to support the 2 MW rotor are about 67,
78 and 100 m tall, respectively, while they weigh about 153, 203
and 255 tons, respectively [51]. Fig. 7 shows the trend of nacelle
system mass in respect to rotor diameter, which consists of rotor
blades and nacelle drivetrain [30]. Fig. 7 also shows the decrement
in nacelle system mass per unit area of rotor swept is going to
diminish at certain rotor diameter in the future.
Currently, commercial offshore HAWT wind farms are mostly
installed in shallow water, in which the turbines are fixed onto the
seabed. Ideally, the optimum installation of offshore wind farm is at
deep sea, where the wind has the most potential. Unfortunately,
deep sea wind farm is not widely implemented at the moment
since it requires a floating foundation, which increases system costs
drastically. A typical floating foundation consists of a massive
ballast submerged in the water to prevent the top-heavy HAWT
from tipping over. Fig. 8 illustrates a relative cost comparison of
several offshore HAWT foundations based on the water depth, in
which a floating technology is the most expensive [52]. Neverthe-
less, a few floating HAWT projects are under way, considering
Fig. 7. The trend of nacelle system mass of HAWT in respect to rotor diameter [30].
563
Fig. 8. Relative cost comparison of offshore HAWT foundation technologies [52].
higher power generation at deep sea will overcome the cost of
floating foundation during the service life.
3. Impacts of HAWT advancement on Darrieus VAWT
Development in onshore HAWT has achieved technological
maturity, which is now competitive to the fossil fuel in generating
electricity. Major components of a typical Darrieus VAWT are
similar to a HAWT, for which technology transfer is beneficial to the
less supported wind turbine. Several technological transfers
include materials and manufacturing technique for the blade,
direct-drive generator system and anchoring foundation for
offshore turbine installation.
3.1. Blade materials
Various materials have been proposed for HAWT blades,
including metals, wood and composites such as GFRP and carbon-
fiber/epoxy composite [53]. The main criterion of blade material
is high strength-to-weight ratio in order to reduce gravity-induced
loadings on the blade, drivetrain, tower and support structures. At
present, carbon-fiber/epoxy composite has been widely investi-
gated for adding stiffness and reducing the weight of a HAWT blade.
However, due to the high cost, fiberglass/carbon hybrid is used to
provide the maximum benefit in a cost-effective manner [26,27].
An advantage of Darrieus VAWT blade is that the airfoil profile
can be made uniform throughout the blade span. Some designs of
phi-rotor use different airfoil models for the root, transition and
equatorial sections. Although each section has a specific airfoil
model, the profile of a particular section remains uniform. In the
early development, a blade of Darrieus VAWT was manufactured
via aluminum alloy extrusion which was bent conforming to tro-
poskein shape. The method is still used in the current development
of cantilevered phi-rotor. The manufacturing cost is considered low
since it required only limited skilled-labor during the process,
which is mainly for the bending process as shown in Fig. 9 [54].
The uniform profile speeds up the blade fabrication time, since it
can be mass-produced easily. In addition, there are several tech-
niques available for manufacturing blade of uniform profile. Besides
whole-blade extrusion, another technique utilizes the combination
of aluminum alloy extrusion for the spar and spline, Nomex for the
core and fiberglass for the skin, as shown in Fig. 10 [55]. Whole-
blade extrusion is heavier and puts more axial loading on the
support bearings than the combination of extrusion and lamination
564 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571

Fig. 9. Fabrication of the 17-m Darrieus VAWT blade by Alcoa in 1970s [54].

techniques. Fiberglass composites were used for the VAWT-850, a

H-rotor in the late 1980s. However, manufacturing error caused a
blade to break. The VAWT-850, nevertheless, demonstrated that
composites could be used on Darrieus VAWT just as on the HAWT.
Currently, the use of composite materials has been common for
Darrieus VAWT blades. Particularly for H-rotor, fiber composite
materials are superior to the extruded aluminum alloy.
In the current development of Aerogenerator X in NOVA pro-
gram, carbon/fiberglass composites has been used successfully for a
50 kW prototype [56]. The blades are made in pieces, and are joint
using Crystic Crestomer 1152 PA, which is a carbon and glass fibers
adhesive. The design, which is not applicable for HAWT, lowers the
costs in manufacturing and transportation compared to a one-piece
blade. For a large scale rotor, however, mechanical assembly and
fixture like rivets will be used to speed up the installation. The
blade is made up of a main central box as the supporting frame
covered with an airfoil skin. Fig. 11a and b shows the components of Fig. 11. Schematic of Aerogenerator X blade structure. (a) Central box and (b) airfoil
the central box and airfoil, respectively. All pieces are designed with [56].
joggle cut-out to be assembled during installation. The joggle
feature ensures a rapid assembly, in which all parts fit accurately
without complicated alignment process. The central box consists of The prototype blades demonstrate that VAWT blade manufacturing
stiffening components, such as spars, trusses, hat stringers and ribs has advantages over the HAWT counterpart. The wind turbine is
in order to prevent buckling, while the upper and lower arm skins currently being tested by Cranfield University before proceeding
give the shape of an airfoil mid-section. The airfoil structure is not with the 10 MW version, which will become the heaviest composite
as complicated as the central box, and only ribs are used as the structure in the world weighing about 160 tons [56].
support. Another blade manufacturing technique has been demon-
Fig. 12a and b shows the fabrication of the 50 kW prototype strated. Fig. 13 shows the blade structure of a 10 MW H-rotor by
blades having 10 m span, 1.9 m chord and 0.18 m thick airfoils. VertAx Ltd. [57]. The blade consists of pultruded spar and skins,
Fig. 12a shows the glass fiber reinforced trailing edge being bonded profiled balsa core and adhesive film. The materials are chosen
to the multiaxial carbon fiber fabrics reinforced composites, while since the gravitational loading is constant and predictable as the
Fig. 12b shows the painted blades after smoothing and adhesive blades do not experience cyclical edgewise bending as in HAWT,
curing at 50  C for 24 h. The final results are light, strong and and are manufactured in straight sections of about 12 m with no
seamless blades suitable for a VAWT. From the figure, however, twist [57]. In addition, the aerodynamic loading to the blades
trusses and hat stringers are not employed for the 50 kW prototype. during operation is predictable. Based on the figure, the VAWT uses
a highly cambered airfoil profile, which is different from the other
large scale rotors being developed currently.

3.2. Direct-drive generator (DDG) system

Kinetic energy of the wind is converted into electrical energy by

Fig. 10. Schematic of SANDIA 17-m blade design [55].
a generator. Synchronous and asynchronous/induction generators
have been widely used in wind turbines. Synchronous generator
provides better voltage and frequency control than induction type.
It is more sophisticated and requires a control system in order to
synchronize the power extracted from the wind with the power
 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571 565

by SNL in 1970s, induction generator was preferable for Darrieus

VAWT. This was due to the inability of synchronous generator used
at the time to start the turbine from a stationary position [59].
However, in the development of the “Test Bed” in late 1980s to early
1990s, synchronous generator was used with power electronic
controls, by which the generator speed could be varied widely from
290 to 1900 rpm [60].
In current development for both HAWT and VAWT, DDG system
is getting popularity. The system allows direct connection of the
rotor shaft and electrical generator without using a speed-
increaser, which has been one of the major failure sources in
wind turbines. The lack of speed-increasing gearbox is compen-
sated by increasing the number of generator poles, which make the
generator larger, heavier and more expensive than the conven-
tional types. DDG was firstly produced by Jacobs Wind Electric Co.,
Inc., in the 1930s [61]. The current DDG system is normally syn-
chronous type, which is popularized by Enercon Corporation in the
1990s [62]. Currently, the DDG shares 18% of global market [3].
Fig. 14 shows a typical direct-drive synchronous ring generator
illustration [63].
DDG comparison to conventional system has been widely
studied [63e70]. Advantages of DDG include lower overall weight
of the turbine system, fewer moving parts, lower O&M costs,
avoidance of costs associated with gearbox failure, higher energy
conversion efficiency especially in lower-than-rated wind velocity,
simpler and quieter drivetrain. In addition, large and heavy DDG is
not an obstacle for Darrieus VAWT since the generator can be
placed at the base of the turbine. In fact the largest Darrieus VAWT,
the Canadian EOLE, utilized DDG which operated smoothly and
added benefit to structural strength. Furthermore, the 200 kW H-
rotor produced by Vertical Wind AB is also using a DDG, and has
been running successfully to date.
The EOLE was equipped with a synchronous DDG using static
frequency changer, which comprised a rectifier, a DC link and an
inverter. The configuration of variable speed and direct-drive pro-
vides several significant advantages over fixed speed squirrel cage
induction generator, such as [71]:

 Better power quality due to reduced torque ripples.

Fig. 12. Blades of 50 kW Aerogenerator X prototype. (a) Trailing edge of a blade is
bonded to the central box, and (b) the blade is painted [56].
 Attenuation of torsional mode resonances.
 Higher efficiency at any given wind velocity.
 Performance improvement in multi-megawatt ratings.
flowing in the grid [58]. On the other hand, induction generator is
cheaper, less complex and can be easily used as a motor to spin a
wind turbine into operational speed. Although induction generator
is inferior to the synchronous type, the use of modern power
electronics makes induction generator the most common generator
installed on wind turbines [53]. In the development of 17-m turbine

Fig. 13. Blade structure of VertAx 10 MW H-rotor [57]. Fig. 14. Illustration of synchronous DDG assembly on HAWT tower [63].
566 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571
 Regenerative braking for speed control in strong wind is
possible down to 10% (in the case of the EOLE) of the rated
speed, which increases energy-capture and mechanical brake
service life.
4. Foreseeable future development in Darrieus VAWT
Current development of Darrieus VAWT has benefited from the
intensive researches on HAWT. In addition, Darrieus VAWT blades
do not experience edgewise loading and can be easily made into
sections to be assembled at the installation site. Thus, Darrieus
VAWT blade-related costs can be lower than HAWT in multi-
megawatt range. Therefore, Darrieus VAWT may be preferable in
terms of COE compared to HAWT for the ongoing development in
offshore wind power generation.
Currently, the UK, US, France and Sweden lead innovations in
large scale Darrieus VAWT development. Innovative designs pro-
posed on Darrieus VAWT have shown promising results to over-
come barriers on multi-megawatt HAWTs, such as gravity-induced
bending stress, manufacturing of complex and specialized airfoil
blades, transportation limitation of long blades and installation on
tall tower. Several offshore Darrieus VAWTs in multi-megawatt
range are being carried out, such as NOVA, VertAx and VertiWind
projects. The projects are based on the concept of H-rotor with
some innovations. In addition, SNL is also developing multi-
megawatt wind turbine for offshore application. The favored
design by SNL is an innovated phi-rotor. The current large-scale
multi-megawatt Darrieus VAWT development is a sudden pickup
since the Eole 4 MW project ended in the early 1990s. In urbanized
wind power applications such as private residential and industrial
sector, small-scale Darrieus VAWT will experience wide variations
in the blade design, most prominently the Helical H-rotor.
4.1. Current development by SNL
SNL was one of the pioneers in Darrieus VAWT development in
the 1970se1990s. At the current state, SNL is continuing the
development through the $4.1 million funding by the US DOE to
develop advanced rotor technologies for US offshore wind power
generation [72]. In carrying out the project, SNL is collaborated with
University of Maine, Iowa State University, TPI Composites, TU-
Delft and Texas A&M University.
The final goal of the project is to develop an offshore wind po-
wer generation system which has the lowest COE. Therefore, a
Fig. 15. Proposed floating cantilevered phi-rotor by SNL [72].
turbine system needs to be efficient, reliable and economically
viable. SNL stated that the economics of offshore wind turbine are
different from the onshore turbine, especially in the installation
and operational challenges. Based on the considerations, SNL
pointed out the three main advantages of VAWT over HAWT
(illustrated in Fig. 15) [72,73]:
1. Lower COG (better stability afloat, lower gravitational fatigue
loads and lower foundation cost).
2. Reduced machine complexity (fewer parts and lower O&M costs
since the drivetrain is more accessible at the surface).
3. Better scalability to very large sizes (only blades are extending
into the sky while drivetrain remains at the surface).
SNL argues that several characteristics should be fulfilled by a
multi-megawatt Darrieus VAWT in order to be economically viable
for offshore wind power generation, such as [73]:
 Molded composite blades with aerodynamic fairings around all
joints.
 Thick NLF airfoils specifically tailored for Darrieus VAWT.
 Variable speed with regenerative braking system.
 Multiple vertical DDGs (usually of the same power rating) that
are distributed on the rotor shaft.
SNL states that despite the advantages of Darrieus VAWT over
HAWT, several challenges should be overcome for a successful
offshore operation. Based on the abundant data on Darrieus VAWT
during previous development, SNL pointed out a few major con-
cerns [72,73]:
1. Cyclic loading on the drivetrain.
2. Aerodynamic braking system.
3. Material and manufacturing technique.
4.2. NOVA project
Feasibility study of NOVA has been carried out by the UK Energy
Technologies Institute (ETI), which was launched in January 2009
with funding of £2.8 million [74]. The main focus of NOVA project is
to reduce COE of large wind turbines, which aims to install 1 GW of
offshore VAWTs by 2020. The NOVA project has been carried out
through collaboration of various institutions and companies
including Wind Power Ltd., Cranfield University, University of
Strathclyde, Sheffield University, OTM Consulting, James Ingram &
Associates, Rolls-Royce, Shell, CEFAS (Centre for Environment,
Fisheries & Aquaculture Science) and QinetiQ [74].
A design proposed in the NOVA project called Aerogenerator
was invented by British aerodynamist David Sharpe, and was
developed by Wind Power Ltd., in 2005. Aerogenerator is similar to
the H-rotor, but with the support bar tilted upward at the pivotal
hub [75]. The early design features several blades along the support
bar where guy wires join each half of the bar together to improve
structural strength. Wind tunnel tests of a 6 kW prototype showed
promising results, including achievable rated power and ability to
withstand extreme wind of more than 64 mph (28.6 m/s) suc-
cessfully [76].
Based on the findings in the feasibility study, another
improvement version called Aerogenerator X was proposed and
unveiled by Wind Power Ltd. in July 2010, which was visually
enhanced by Grimshaw Architects. Aerogenerator X is a simpler
version with only two blades at the ends of the support bar and
does not use guy wires on the bar. The improvement lowers the
rotor weight by half of the previous version, giving benefit of
 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571 567

to rolling and pitching due to ocean waves. Gyroscopic moments

introduce significant motions at certain frequencies, but overall,
they have negligible effects on both, i.e. the rotor and foundation.
The study proves the benefits of low COG of Aerogenerator X, which
contributes to its stability even under harsh sea conditions.

4.3. VertAx project

Another large scale Darrieus VAWT is being developed by Ver-

tAx Wind Ltd., which has the aim to lower the cost of offshore wind
energy. The VertAx 10 MW offshore wind turbine project is a
collaboration of several private companies with their own exper-
tise, such as Coverteam (electrical generation), Gifford (structural

Fig. 16. Illustration of Aerogenerator X compared to several structures [77].

Fig. 17. Artist's impression of the proposed 10 MW Aerogenerator X [77].

reduced bending stress on the support bar [75]. Full scale Aero-
generator X is proposed as a 10 MW version with rotor diameter of
270 m and height of 130 m. It is scheduled to be completed in the
mid-2010s. Fig. 16 shows size comparison of Aerogenerator X to
several structures [77].
Fig. 17 shows the illustration of full scale 10 MW Aerogenerator
X, while Fig. 18 shows the turbine model used for gyroscopic
analysis [78]. The analysis predicts the characteristics of Aerogen-
erator X rotating on a floating semi-submersible vessel in response

Fig. 18. Structural design of Aerogenerator X used in gyroscopic effect investigation Fig. 19. An illustration of the proposed design of 10 MW VAWT by Vertax Wind Ltd.
[78]. [57].
568 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571

design), Slingsby Composites (blade development), Northwest

Composites Centre (blade development), SeaRoc Group (marine
deployment) and BAM Nuttall (turbine construction and assembly).
The proposed design features several innovative aspects, including
built-in crank and helipad at the top of the tower used for main-
tenance, e.g. changing the blades and rotor arms [57].
During the Hamburg Offshore Wind (HOW) Conference in 2009,
VertAX Wind, Ltd., described several limitations in HAWT, such as
high cost of equipments, blades approaching limit of viability,
supply chain constraints, logistical complexities and high cost of
maintenance. On the other hand, VAWT offers cost effective solu-
tions of blade production, mechanical simplicity (no yawing and
pitching), robustness, reliability, longevity, transportation and
erection, and reduced maintenance [57].
The proposed design has rotor diameter of 140 m and blade
length of 110 m, which is capable of producing 10 MW of electricity
using two 5 MW permanent magnet DDG units. The blades will be
manufactured as 11-m segments for ease of logistics in
manufacturing and transporting to the site. In addition, the blades
and support arms will be made of composite materials for the
strength, low weight and cost effectiveness. The turbine is designed
for rated power at rotational speed of 4 RPM using 180 poles. The
DDG is designed to have full load efficiency of about 92.5% [57]. The
VertAx 10 MW project is scheduled for completion in 2014. Fig. 19
shows the proposed design concept of Vertax 10 MW offshore wind
turbine. Fig. 21. Cross-sectional view of the proposed 10 MW H-rotor by VertAx, Ltd. [57].
The turbine is transported to the offshore location and is
installed as a fully assembled system. The unique arrangement of magnets (rotor) are attached to the rotor arms via dampened
components are shown in Figs. 20 and 21 [57]. The support struc- connection block. Cladding covered cantilever framework is used to
ture (tower) is concrete, and is integrated with a sea-bed founda- hold the rotating structures, which revolves around the tower using
tion. Generator coils (stator) are fixed on the tower, while generator serviceable rollers on a track supported by ring beams. Therefore,

Fig. 20. Structural illustration of the proposed 10 MW H-rotor by VertAx, Ltd. [57]. Fig. 22. A 35 kW prototype in the early design of Vertiwind [79].
 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571 569

considering the complexity, the turbine is assembled onshore prior

to transporting it offshore. In addition, the blades are collapsed
close to the tower during transporting in order to prevent wind
loading on the blades. When the foundation is secured to the
seabed, the blades are extended to the operational position.

4.4. Vertiwind project

A multi-megawatt Darrieus VAWT project is under way in

France. Nenuphar, a wind power company, together with Technip,
Converteam and EDF Energies nouvelles is currently developing a
multi-megawatt Darrieus VAWT after being awarded funding by
the French government in 2011. The project called Vertiwind is to
test a 2 MW offshore floating Darrieus VAWT prototype by the end
of 2013. The next target is to install an offshore wind farm of 13
floating wind turbines producing about 25 MW by the end of 2015.
The founders of Nenuphar experimented with floating scale
models of HAWT and Darrieus VAWT, and found that direct-drive
Darrieus VAWT could be cheaper and more reliable than HAWT
for multi-megawatt scale, especially for offshore wind energy. In
addition, Technip, an oil and gas company with expertise in
offshore engineering, stated that a lot of material would be saved,
besides easier turbine installation with Vertiwind design.
Fig. 22 shows the prototype of Vertiwind, which has 35 kW
rating and has been operating successfully since March 2010 [79].
The design is a three-bladed H-rotor with non-proportional length
of blades to the support arms. The support arms are located near to
the ground, while the blades are extended upwards. Struts are used
to secure the blades to the support arms. The system has fewer
moving parts than conventional HAWT, such as no yaw system, no
pitch system and no gearbox. However, concerns on blade fatigue,
not evenly distributed load and cyclic torque has resulted in a new
design of Vertiwind.
Fig. 23a and b shows the improved version of Vertiwind. Fig. 23a
shows a cross-sectional view of the turbine, while Fig. 23b shows
the artist's impression of the turbine. The blades are made quasi-
helicoidal, similar to the fully-curved Helical H-rotor, but with
straight segments. The blade design allows more uniform torque,
reduces dynamic stall in intermittent strong winds and is more
stable than the earlier design. With the improvement, Nenuphar
claims that the turbine is simpler, more robust, cheaper and lower
costs in O&M. In addition, the company also states that gyroscopic
effects of the turbine are minimized by the bottom-heavy system
[80].

5. Conclusion

Darrieus VAWT has begun another era in the 21st century after
being in an inferior position since the Eole in Canada. Currently,
Darrieus VAWT is investigated for deep water application. Although
Darrieus VAWT is practically lower in efficiency compared to
HAWT, investigations have hinted that large-scale Darrieus VAWT
can provide lower specific COE, especially in multi-megawatt range.
Knowledge gained from the feasibility studies by several large scale
offshore Darrieus VAWT projects has pointed out several significant
advantages over HAWT, such as:

 Costs: i) Lesser blade material used compared to HAWT as rotor

becomes larger. ii) Lesser manufacturing costs as the blade is
uniform and can be made into similar segments, eliminating
contour complexity as in HAWT blade. iii) Lesser installation
cost since the rotor can be transported as smaller segments and
joined at a very much lower altitude on site, eliminating the use
Fig. 23. Improved version of Vertiwind: (a) Cross-sectional view of the rotor and (b)
Illustration of the improved version of Vertiwind [80].
of specialized transportation and installation tools, thus making
the offshore installation much simpler especially in deep water.
570 W. Tjiu et al. / Renewable Energy 75 (2015) 560e571
iv) Lesser O&M costs since the drivetrain is at the base, elimi-
nating the complex procedures as in HAWT maintenance.
 Operational: i) Structurally more stable with COG at the bottom
of the rotor compared to the top-heavy HAWT, in which the
effect is significant as the rotor becomes larger and being
installed at deep water. ii) Able to capture gust wind from every
direction instantaneously. iii) Different from onshore turbines,
there is no need for being very tall in order to capture offshore
wind (for which the costs in support structures and O&M would
increase significantly). VAWT has an advantage for being able to
adjust the rotor sweeping area, i.e. the height and diameter. iv)
Gyroscopic effects are negligible for bottom-heavy Darrieus
VAWT. v) Fewer moving parts ensure system reliability for deep
water application.
 Rotor size: Blades of VAWT can be made longer since the blades
experience much lesser gravity-induced bending stress than the
blades of HAWT. In addition, rotor sweeping area is adjustable
for straight-bladed configuration, thus reducing height-induced
wind velocity difference.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation for sponsoring this project under the
PRGS/1/11/TK/UKM/03/2 grant.
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