As the popularity of alternative energy increases, it seems that the days of relying solely on fossil fuels are numbered. While solar energy appears to be leading the charge, it’s unlikely to be capable of handling all energy production on its own. Wind power and wave power are natural supplements to solar. Wind in particular has seen increased adoption at the utility and corporate level. However, it has not been made widely available for individual consumers and other small-scale end users thus far.

One company that wants to make wind power more widely accessible is Harmony Turbines. Management founded the firm on the basis of providing wind solutions for the millions of residential customers who have been waiting for the right product to fit their needs and their budget. The initial incarnation of this idea — dubbed the Harmony VAWT — is set to be 16 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Management has said that the device can be made at sizes smaller than that. They have demonstrated a model that looks to be about half that height.

The Harmony VAWT has a three-legged stand, and at its center is a series of scoops designed to capture wind optimally. Because of the design, when wind speeds change, so too does the distance between any two scoops on each level of the device. This design allows the Harmony VAWT to maximize energy production from varying intensities of wind. Many alternative solutions have more narrow ranges of wind speeds from which they can draw energy. This results in suboptimal speeds at both extremes (high and low speed winds) and creates less energy generation for the end user. The Harmony VAWT’s advantage is made possible through the company’s non-provisional utility patent for the furling architecture of the device’s scoops.

Harmony Turbines doesn’t intend to manufacture and sell its technology directly to end users. Instead, it wants to sell and license out its intellectual property rights to manufacturers. If executed well, this plan would result in higher margins for the company compared to manufacturing the devices on its own. It would also allow them to expand globally with ease. However, the firm would also lose some control over its business by doing this. 

It is worth mentioning that while the company does hold a patent, it has very limited operating history. Revenue in prior years has been $0 because the firm only launched officially in July of this year. Since management decided it best to start from a blank slate, the business has practically no assets. Revenue in the three months leading up to August were $0, and all operating and related costs were $0 as well.

The alternative energy market is massive. To put this in perspective, consider the global wind market, which accounts for a small piece of global energy revenue. According to one source, this market represents an opportunity worth $107.2 billion this year. By 2023, with annualized growth of 7.2%, the industry should expand to $134.6 billion. Much of this opportunity, though, resides on the utility and commercial sides of the market. The actual potential for what’s called the ‘small wind turbine market’ is much more limited.

According to one source, the small wind niche is worth around $895 million. What it lacks in size, it’s making up for in growth though. That same source estimates that the market’s growth will average 14% per annum through 2025, at which point it will reach $1.72 billion in size. There is some uncertainty over the size of this space though. A different source estimates the market is worth closer to $6.91 billion. With an expected annualized growth rate of 13.2% through 2022, it should end that year at $8.87 billion. That same source places the smaller vertical segment of the market (where Harmony Turbines plays) at $2.16 billion. This compares to the $3.71 billion horizontal segment. Off-grid solutions, which is also where Harmony Turbines plays, are estimated to be worth $3.77 billion. This is nearly double the $2.10 billion for the on-grid piece of the market.

Lastly, while Harmony Turbines does fit into the small wind turbine market, so too do non-residential applications. One source we looked at suggested that the residential market for wind turbines is worth about $1.5 billion, with growth of 7% per annum taking it to $2 billion by 2024.

At this point in time, there really is only one key member of the Harmony Turbines team. That is Christopher Moore, the firm’s owner and CEO. At present, Moore still works as a Programmer Analyst at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. He has also served in the same capacity for Lancaster General Medical Group. Prior to that, he worked as a Software Engineer at Siemens Medical. 

After a careful evaluation of the opportunity here, our team has rated Harmony Turbines as a Neutral prospect. On the positive side, the company operates in a fast-growing niche of a large market that’s destined for greatness. The firm’s patent is definitely of value. And if the technology is as good as it says, it shouldn’t be hard for the business to sell or license out its intellectual property. The margins resulting from this activity should be quite high for the firm. The valuation is also more or less in line with what you might expect for a business with no financial traction. However, potential investors should also consider some key concerns. The technology is still early enough in development that it might not live up to the hype management has offered. That alone could kill the business. On top of this, the team appears to be inexperienced in the space. This creates a lot of potential issues down the road, and the amount of risk centered around appropriate execution is high. Because of this, investors should be careful with this firm.