Abstract: The vertical wind turbine is provided with a rotating vane housing mounted between an upper, cam disk and a lower, base disk, the base disk being mounted to a shaft. A plurality of turbine blades are pivotally mounted around the vane housing, each of the blades being pivotal between open and closed positions with respect to the housing. The cam disk defines a cam profile. A roller follower is coupled to each turbine blade. The follower forces the connected blade to open or close as the follower travels along the cam profile during each revolution of the housing. The open position of the blade harnesses wind energy to induce torque for rotating the housing. The closed position of the blade reduces drag to increase efficiency of the vertical wind turbine.