Background section:

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines:

A Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) is a device that converts the kinetic energy in the wind
into electricity (Abhishiktha Tummala), that has an axis that is vertical rather than horizontal,
unlike most wind turbines. These types of wind turbines are mainly classified into two types:

Darrieus: These are considered the most efficient

type of VAWT, and work based on lift forces. This
means that the rotation of the wind turbine is caused
by lift forces acting upon the blades. (Figure 1) This
type of VAWT has advantage of having simple
construction and a relatively low cost. The
disadvantage of this type of wind turbine however is
that it has low starting torque. This means that it is
not self-starting. Typically, a Darrieus type wind
turbine will require an external power source, for
example a small motor, to start the rotation. The
application of this type of wind turbine is usually kept
at a small scale, as the advantages tend to outweigh
the disadvantages in this scenario.

Figure 1 Examples of various types

of Darrieus wind turbines

Savonius: These wind turbines rely heavily on drag

forces to spin. (Figure 2) This type of VAWT has very
low efficiency, but its main advantage is that it performs
well in highly turbulent wind conditions. This is due to
the great structural resistance inherent in its design.
Therefore, these wind turbines are typically used in
areas where there are turbulent weather conditions.
Savonius wind turbines also have the advantage of
being self-starting.

Figure 2 Illustration of a Savonius

wind turbine

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines have decreased efficiency when compared to Horizontal Axis Wind
Turbines (HAWTs), however many times VAWTs have advantages in their specific applications,
which ultimately overcome some of their disadvantages. The main advantages that these wind
turbines have when compared to the HAWT is that they can use wind coming in from any
direction, an advantage which causes them to excel in areas where the HAWT cannot adequately
perform.

References

Tjiu, Willy et al. Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine for Power Generation II:
Challenges in HAWT and the Opportunity of Multi-Megawatt Darrieus VAWT
Development. Renewable Energy, vol. 75, 2015, pp. 560571.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2014.10.039.
Tummala, Abhishiktha et al. A Review on Small Scale Wind Turbines. Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 56, 2016, pp. 13511371.
doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.027.
Riegler, Hannes. HAWT versus VAWT. Refocus, vol. 4, no. 4, 2003, pp. 4446.
doi:10.1016/s1471-0846(03)00433-5.

Figure 1 & 2:
Wind Energy Overview. Belarusian Web Portal on Renewable Energy, European
Commission's Energy Policy Project in Belarus, Jan. 2012,
re.energybel.by/en/renewable-energy-technologies/wind/