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A turbine, suitable for use as a water or wind turbine, for generating rotary motion from fluid flow wherein the axis of rotation of the turbine is transverse to the direction of flow. The turbine has two foils, which may meet at the axis of rotation, and the turbine is helical and tapered. The turb

A turbine, suitable for use as a water or wind turbine, for generating rotary motion from fluid flow wherein the axis of rotation of the turbine is transverse to the direction of flow. The turbine has two foils, which may meet at the axis of rotation, and the turbine is helical and tapered. The turbine has a quasi-conical base. The non-mount end of the turbine is preferably tilted downstream with the turbine axis of rotation in the range of about 5° to 15° from perpendicular to the flow direction.

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1. A turbine, for rotating responsive to a fluid flowing relative to the turbine wherein in use the turbine is oriented with its axis of rotation transverse to the fluid flow, the turbine comprising: at least two foils extending along the axis of rotation, wherein:a) each foil has a mount end at one

1. A turbine, for rotating responsive to a fluid flowing relative to the turbine wherein in use the turbine is oriented with its axis of rotation transverse to the fluid flow, the turbine comprising: at least two foils extending along the axis of rotation, wherein:a) each foil has a mount end at one end of its span and a non-mount end at the other end of its span;b) each foil has a twist about the axis of rotation of no less than about 180° along its span;c) one side of the foil section of each foil is generally concave and the other side of the foil section of the foil has an outer convex section, an intermediate concave section and an inner convex section; andd) the length of the chord of the foil in the vicinity of the mount end is greater than the length of the chord of the foil in the vicinity of the non-mount end, whereby the profile of the turbine is generally tapered. 2. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the turbine is a solid-foil turbine whereby there is no overlap or gap between the foils. 3. The turbine of claim 2, wherein the foils project from a base at the mount end of the foils and the base is quasi-conical. 4. The turbine of claim 2, wherein the width of a foil section of each foil at the intermediate concave section is no less than about 10% of the chord length at the foil section. 5. The turbine of claim 2, wherein the greatest dimension of the inner convex section as measured from a chord between the axis of rotation of the turbine and the outer edge of the foil is at a location normal to a location on the chord within about 12% of the chord length of the axis of rotation. 6. The turbine of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the length to the width of a foil section in the vicinity of the mount end is greater than the ratio of the length to the width of a foil section in the vicinity of the non-mount end. 7. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the non-mount end of the turbine is tilted downstream with the turbine axis of rotation in the range of about 5° to 15° from perpendicular to the flow direction. 8. The turbine of claim 7, wherein the turbine axis of rotation is in the range of about 7° from perpendicular to the flow direction. 9. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the taper is linear. 10. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the taper is curved. 11. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the taper is double curved. 12. A turbine, for rotating responsive to a fluid flowing relative to the turbine wherein in use the turbine is oriented with its axis of rotation transverse to the fluid flow, the turbine comprising: at least two foils extending along the axis of rotation, wherein:a) each foil has a mount end at one end of its span and a non-mount end at the other end of its span;b) each foil has a twist about the axis of rotation of no less than about 180° along its span;c) one side of the foil section of each foil is generally concave and the other side of the foil section of the foil has an outer convex section, an intermediate concave section and an inner convex section;d) the length of the chord of the foil in the vicinity of the mount end is greater than the length of the chord of the foil in the vicinity of the non-mount end, whereby the profile of the turbine comprises an un-tapered portion and at least one tapered portion; ande) the un-tapered portion of the turbine profile is configured such that the three dimensional volume swept by the un-tapered portion is cylindrical. 13. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the twist is about 200° to about 220°. 14. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the twist is about 210°. 15. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the turbine is a water turbine made from concrete. 16. The turbine of claim 15, wherein the concrete is reinforced with polypropylene. 17. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the turbine is a wind turbine made from fibreglass. 18. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the turbine has a foam core. 19. The turbine of claim 1, wherein the turbine is a wind turbine made from cedar strips over wood frames. 20. The turbine of claim 2, wherein the non-mount end of the turbine is tilted downstream with the turbine axis of rotation in the range of about 5° to 15° from perpendicular to the flow direction. 21. The turbine of claim 20, wherein the turbine axis of rotation is in the range of about 7° from perpendicular to the flow direction.