The VGOT Darrieus wind turbine

We present the actual state of development of a non-conventional new vertical-axis wind turbine. The concepts introduced here involve the constructive aspects of variable-geometry oval-trajectory (VGOT) Darrieus wind turbines. The key feature of a VGOT machine is that each blade slides over rails mounted on a wagon instead of rotating around a central vertical axis. Each wagon contains its own electrical generation system coupled to the power-wheels and the electricity is collected by a classical third rail system. The VGOT concept allows increasing the area swept by the blades, and hence the power output of the installation, without the structural problems and the low rotational speed associated with a classical Darrieus rotor of large diameter. We also propose some engineering solutions for the VGOT design and present a brief economic analysis of the feasibility of the project.