PRINCETON SATELLITE SYSTEMS, INC.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop advanced control technologies for improving the overall cost-effectiveness of small-scale vertical axis wind turbines. Most commercial wind turbines operate at energy efficiencies much lower than what can be practically realized. The efficiency can be vastly improved by implementing active control. In this project simple blade actuation mechanisms, advanced control algorithms, nonlinear filtering methods will be integrated with effective generator, power converter and sensor technologies for reduction of overall cost per kilowatt. Furthermore, cooperative control methods will be developed for multiple VAWTs installed on a building, by enabling inter-unit communication. A demonstration of improvement of wind turbine performance due to advanced technology, and the associated increased cost assessment will be presented. It is expected that the proposed advanced technologies will render single and arrays of VAWT units economically viable for small- to medium-scale implementation on residential and commercial buildings.