Best Startup
A QUICK INTRODUCTION ABOUT WHAT YOUR COMPANY DOES/YOUR VALUES/MISSION.
Wind Harvest International‘s Mission is to be the world’s leading mid-level wind turbine technology company, opening new markets with our turbines, solving problems for renewable energy customers and doing well for our investors, customers and partners.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF?
Kevin Wolf has been working with Wind Harvest and vertical axis wind turbines for many years. He is an expert on the technology and mid-level wind markets. He is the author of papers published in industry magazines and with the California Energy Commission. His degree in Evolution and Ecology from UC Davis gives him a solid science background that is widely useful to the Wind Harvest. HIs old company, Wolf and Associates was espected for their work in consensus-based facilitation process and its early use of the Internet. Wolf has been and environmental activist starting from his work protecting rivers. He now chairs the California Clean Money Action Fund that has successfully passed a series of bills that increase the transparency of how money affects elections.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME A YEAR OR TWO, WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF?
Spend more time finding the right staff to hire. Plan for things to go wrong.
WHAT PROBLEM DOES YOUR BUSINESS SOLVE?
Wind is one of the most cost-effective sources of energy; however, current technologies cannot be used in many exceptionally windy locations. The large, 300+ foot (100m) and taller wind turbines have an impact on views, wildlife, aviation, telecommunication, roads, and more that can prevent them from being installed on many otherwise profitable properties. These wasted locations alone are a $100 Billion market needing a much shorter turbine.
The most valuable unused resource is the gusting layer of near-ground wind that is too turbulent for large propeller-type turbines to handle. Twenty percent of wind farms worldwide sit on ridgelines and other places where the wind funnels and speeds up near the ground. Our analysis shows that almost 140 gigawatts (GW) of existing wind farms have good to excellent wind below the lower sweep of tall turbines’ blades. Harvesting this rich layer of wind should, on average, double the land’s energy output and open a $250 billion undeveloped market.
WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR BUSINESS?
Our inspiration is the wasted layer of mid-level wind that should be harvested in all of California’s wind farms and about 20% of the world’s wind farms where wind accelerates near the ground. This is low hanging fruit that should be harvested as soon as possible to help move us away from having to burn fossil fuel to provide energy.
WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC SAUCE?
Our breakthrough and “secret sauce” is our proprietary aeroelastic computer model for vertical axis wind turbine engineering. No VAWT company has been able to break into this space because they’ve lacked a validated aeroelastic model. VAWTs are difficult to make and commecialized as evidenced by the fact that there are none for sale to the commercial and utility markets.
Because we are first to market, we are able to file four new patents that make it difficult for competitors to make a turbine as durable, inexpensive and efficient as ours. Our engineering teams 50+ years of combined experience working on vertical axis wind turbines is unique. There are few people anywhere with as much experience designing, making and testing mid-sized VAWTs.
Our team of dedicated engineers, our validated models, and our patents provide Wind Harvest with enormous advantages.
WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?
Our vision is to be the leading developer of H-type wind turbines with a large share of the $250 billion wind farm mid-level wind market plus the estimated $100 billion distributed energy market for our size turbines. Five years from now, we believe we will: • Achieve $1 billion in annual revenue • Own projects worth over $100 million, • Be a publicly-traded company • Be on a path to $25 billion in total sales by 2030.
Wind Harvest will be an internationally known and respected brand that sells its turbines for premium prices. One or more of the Company’s patents are used by 90% of the competitors in the mid-level wind turbine market.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU’VE FACED SO FAR?
Our biggest challenge has always been working with too little capital. After my success in raising $1.94 million through a Reg CF/506c offering in 2021, it became clear that my inexperience in hiring and supervising staff created new challenges. It took a year to overcome the resulting problems. The good news is that our engineering team is well managed by Dr. Ola Ajala, but it is clear we need a seasoned General Manager to build the company’s internal infrastructure. This is our next hire.
HOW DO PEOPLE GET INVOLVED/BUY INTO YOUR VISION?
Besides investing in our company through our Reg CF or equity offerings, people can help Wind Harvest achieve its vision in a number of ways. We are happy to work with anyone who brings us a property that has good mid-level wind speeds and local energy prices that make it worth developing a Wind Harvester project on the site. Our investors and friends help us amplify our messaging through their social media support.
