For your info

[flatwater]

A friend of mine at work sent me an article from earthronics.com. They have developed a wind turbine that only needs 2mph wind to generate power because it has no gears but developes power at the tips of the blades. It's an interesting concept. Their asking 4500.00 for the turbine mount and box that hooks up to your panel. They are supposed to be available this fall or sooner. I was hoping that 12volt and others who are far more knowledgable then myself might take a looksy and let me know what they think. I was thinking combined with panels they would really help in the winter when the sun is less and the wind is more

[12vman]

It'll depend on the wind in ones area..

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/03/sun_biz_muskegon_wind_turbine.html

[randallhilton]

I could see these things turning into expensive lawn art pretty quickly if they don't have a good way to deal with dust and debris in that outer ring. Here in Texas, we get mud storms (a dust storm followed by a rinse cycle). That outer rim provides a lot of braking surface for the dust bunnies. I haven't seen one up close so i don't know if it's a risk or not.