Alongside the story of today’s commercially successful, propeller-type, horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), there is the lesser known story of the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). Once seen as a competitor in setting the standard for wind turbine design, utility-scale VAWTs have become a more and more unusual sight. However, utility-scale VAWT prototypes do from time to time still appear as attempts are made to establish vertical axis technology in a market totally dominated by horizontal axis machines. This is a retrospective survey of utility-scale VAWT projects, with turbines of 100 kW or more.