Company CLEANtricity Power.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: [small biz] TECH STARTUP

INITIAL LIGHT BULB: Ralph Belden, a Nevada-based private pilot, started dabbling with windmills in the late 1970s. Several patents and 30 years later, Belden teamed with Richard Smith, the son of a fellow pilot, and his classmate in CU's executive MBA program, Daniel Sullivan, to found CLEANtricity Power.

Belden brought a traditional small windmill called the Survivor to market in the 1980s, and there are now 300 units in operation, largely in far-flung locations in the developing world. Belden's new brainchild is dubbed the Shapeshifter 2.0, as it literally changes shape with the wind.

Sullivan acts as CEO, Smith is president, and Belden is chief technologist.

IN A NUTSHELL: "This one has the ability to change its shape so it's large in low winds and small in high winds," Sullivan says. "As the wind speed picks up, the blades are hinged and are able to fold into a helicopter position, which reduces the profile to 10 percent of its original size. The blades move naturally to their optimum position."

Sullivan says there are seven classes of wind speeds, from breezes to hurricanes, and Belden's design can handle the entire spectrum. "It avoids the destructive forces in higher winds," Sullivan says. "This is the biggest problem with small wind turbines: They do not operate across the entire spectrum of wind speed. Most of our competitors will choose to design a low windspeed device, but they're in trouble when the wind picks up.

While the Survivor is a traditional horizontal-axis windmill, the Shapeshifter 2.0 spins on a vertical axis; the prime benefit is less noise. The windmill is 12 feet in diameter and is installed on a 60- to 80-foot tower with a total price tag of $30,000 before state and federal tax incentives.

The company has a provisional patent on the Shapeshifter 2.0 and a prototype. "We are currently refining the design," Smith says. "We're going through some virtual testing, wind tunnel testing and some...