Patent ID: 7997876

Claim:
A wind turbine including a rotor, the rotor having one or more blades and a rotor radius distance approximately equal to the distance measured from a centerline of the rotor to a tip of one of the one or more blades, and a tower having a plurality of tower sections, the wind turbine comprising: a first tower section having a generally cylindrical or frusto-conical shape, the first tower section having at least one first diameter; a reduced diameter tower section connected to the first tower section, the reduced diameter tower section having a waist portion with at least one second diameter, the second diameter being smaller than the first diameter, the reduced diameter tower section further comprising a first transition section located below and adjacent the waist portion, and a second transition section located above and adjacent to the waist portion, wherein, the first transition section diameter transitions from about the first diameter to about the second diameter, and the second transition section diameter transitions from about the second diameter to about a third diameter, the third diameter being greater than the second diameter and equal to or less than the first diameter; and wherein, at least a portion of the reduced diameter tower section having the second diameter is located about one radius distance from the centerline of the rotor, the reduced diameter section providing increased static clearance to the tip of the one or more blades.