As the burgeoning clean energy industry plays a more relevant role in economies and energy distribution and as increased funding is allocated through private and public resources, clean energy companies continue to fine tune their technology. As solar, wind and geothermal energy delivery systems become more practical, we can expect to see even more realistic applications of clean tech in our everyday lives.

Wind power has been a constant for over two decades. However, today’s wind turbines have nearly reached their maximum possible efficiency and are limited to sites with a narrow profile of wind patterns. Young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, such as the team at FloDesign Wind Turbine Corporation are working to bring the latest technologies to the wind turbine industry. FloDesign Wind Turbine Corporation’s patent pending FloDesign FD700 shrouded turbine will outperform existing turbines by a factor of three or more in a much wider range of wind resources. The teams’ experience applying “mixer-ejector” technology to such projects as the Stealth bomber, Gulfstream II and Comanche helicopter enables migration of mature aerospace methods to wind turbine applications. FloDesign will design, manufacture, and sell the FD700 to wind farm developers, industrial operators and utilities.

On Monday, May 12, the judging committee for the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) business presentation competition declared FloDesign Wind Turbine Corporation, from Wilbraham, Mass. the 2008 ICE Competition grand prize winner. FloDesign won the largest cash prize, three months worth of public relations services from Bell Pottinger USA, complementary legal services provided by Mintz Levin and a choice of one year of office space from Cummings Properties valued or incubator space at the UMass Dartmouth Applied Technology and Manufacturing Center. Chelsea Sexton was the keynote speaker at the ICE finals. Sexton is the Executive Director of PlugIn America and one of the key individuals interviewed in the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?

“FloDesign Wind Turbine Corporation is going to revolutionize the way we capture energy from the wind,” says CEO, Stanley Kowalski III. “Our wind turbine will produce more wind energy with less impact on the environment. Our turbines are smaller, can function in a variety of climates, and can work closer to the ground.”

FloDesign Wind Turbine Corporation was chosen as the grand prize winner out of the largest applicant pool in ICE competition history. Sponsored by the MIT Enterprise Forum Energy Special Interest Group, the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) business presentation competition began in 2004 to stimulate the growing clean energy industry in New England. It provides start-up clean energy companies and entrepreneurs with the opportunities and resources to develop business skills, network with industry professionals and the chance to attract potential investors.

“The diversity and commercial potential of these ideas should prove to anyone that it is possible to make green products that also make economic sense,” said Clark Waterfall, 2008 Competition Chair. “The business plan presented by FloDesign was well worth the grand prize. It is proof of the intensive coaching and mentoring our volunteers have given to our contestants this year in preparation for the semifinals and the finals. The transformation from promising technology to well-considered business concept has been remarkable in many cases. I anticipate seeing many ICE contestants develop into successful businesses in the coming years.”