Fairborn firm finds future in the wind

Doug Bogart, COO of Twenty First Century Energy LLC, with a model of a vertical wind turbine the Fairborn company developed. The device would be used in low wind speed areas to generate electricity.

Ty Greenlees/Staff Photographer Doug Bogart, COO of Twenty First Century Energy LLC, with a model of a vertical wind turbine the Fairborn company developed. The device would be used in low wind speed areas to generate electricity.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer 10:02 PM Friday, October 16, 2009

FAIRBORN — When you talk about Twenty First Century Energy LLC, you must consider the company’s superlatives.

Such as owning the biggest rooftop solar array in southwestern Ohio and the area’s biggest privately owned wind tunnel.

The company’s goals are big, too: About 150 full-time people producing wind turbines in the next three to five years, said Dick Spies, the company’s chief operating officer.

For a long time, the company was quiet about such things. “It’s one of those best-kept secrets,” Spie said.

Last year, TFC won an $800,000 Department of Defense grant to start working with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the University of Dayton Research Institute on a transportable turbine that can be used in places like Afghanistan.

“The potential for the region is just going to be phenomenal,” said Karen Diehl, TFC’s director of integration.

The original equipment manufacturer makes vertical-axis wind turbines. Forget for a moment those familiar turbines whose drive shafts are parallel to the horizon. TFC’s turbines point to the sky, fitted with an enormous trio of blades.

Vertical-axis turbines are suitable for areas like the Miami Valley, with average annual wind speeds of 10-12 mph.

Large, utility-scale turbines sit about 360 feet from the ground, produce up to three megawatts and cost about $5 million per tower. They’re often clustered in “wind farms” and found in areas with high wind speeds.

TFC’s turbines are different: The company designs units that stand about 70 feet high, produce 30 to 50 kilowatts and cost about $200,000. The military units will produce about 10 kilowatts.

Another key difference: TFC’s units will be attached to the customer’s side of the power grid, Spies said. The turbines will be perfect for businesses, universities and K-12 schools seeking to supplement utility power, the company said.

Such turbines are called “distributive” and are not meant to be tied to utility grids, but to building meters.

To speed development, TFC has invested $130,000 in an open-circuit wind tunnel driven by a 15-horsepower electric motor.

Said Spies, “We’re going to create a lot of new jobs.”