CGE Energy is making advancements in multiple aspects of the development of their flagship WIND-e20, a vertical-axis wind turbine that is being reported as “breaking all the rules– in a good way”. The 105-foot WIND-e20 generates clean power on-site and is the world’s only turbine that can be installed, maintained and removed without a crane. The turbine is quiet, safe for birds, and its blades even collapse in storms– all feats that help clear barriers for sustainable energy.
New market impact
CGE is preparing to unveil how WIND-e20 is going to also disrupt an industry completely separate from energy. Not only will this provide additional revenue streams for the company, but removes all geographic limitations to the turbine. Beyond helping save the planet, this application of WIND-e20 might also saves lives in one of the most dangerous job fields in America.
Taking next steps with Roush
Bringing this vision to life, CGE’s engineering team, with assistance from Roush Industries, utilized the most advanced rapid prototyping technologies to fabricate the first 1/10th scale WIND-e20 demonstration unit to help facilitate pre-sales of the 105-foot production WIND-e20 turbines.
In addition, CGE and Roush are moving forward on engineering and optimizing the design of the full-size production turbines, using the most cost-effective lean manufacturing methods.
The industry is taking notice
Recently, the WIND-e20 wind turbine was featured as the “Turbine of the Month” in the October publication of Wind Power Engineering magazine, a well-known publication goes out bi-monthly to tens of thousands of readers who actively follow the wind industry. WIND-e20 was also featured in an article on CleanTechnica, the #1 cleantech news and analysis site in the world. They too highlighted the turbine’s innovative features and points out the strength of the U.S. patents granted to the turbine.
Small wind tax credits may be back
This month, the U.S. House of Representatives released their proposed tax reform legislation, providing for massive alterations to tax law. The proposed legislation would reinstate the renewable energy tax credit for small wind energy projects. Under the proposed legislation, the tax credit would be 30% until 2019, scaling down to 10% in 2022, and then eventual phase out in 2027. The proposed legislation is subject to further amendments and may not be enacted into final legislation. While CGE’s economics does not rely on tax credits, they allow the turbine to have greater impact.