
Berkeley Lab Engineering Division teamed with Empire Magnetics, Rohnert Park and the Makeyev State Rocket Center under a DOE NNSA non-proliferation project to develop and test a series of small wind turbines of vertical axis design. Over the years, about 100 Russian scientists and engineers worked on the project and the hydrodynamic, aerodynamic and mechanical test facilities of the SRC were used. The objective was to create a highly manufacturable Darieus unit with a modest Tip Speed Ratio (quiet and low impact damage potential) that would be suitable for urban or village use. Test units of 1, 3 and 30 kW were completed and 5 3 kW beta units arrived in California in December. They will be tested to the new Small Wind Certification Committee standards of AWEA in the next few months under funding provided under the Technology Commercialization Fund of the lab. Commercial sales have begun is Russia and Empire Magnetics is forming a company for sales outside the FSU. Presuming the test program to be successful, future contributions by Berkeley Lab and the Campus will be discussed.