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Maglev Wind Power Generator

Magnetic levitation is an important new development to reduce stress from the mechanical load on the wind turbine. That such development was first announced in China is indicative of a new mandate for renewable energy from Beijing.Guokun Li, chief of Zhongke Energy and lead developer on the project, made a presentation about the new magnetic levitation generator at the Wind Power Asia Exhibition 2006 held June 28 in Beijing. The new wind power technology was the result of collaboration between Guangzhou Energy Research Institute, under China’s Academy of Sciences, and Guangzhou Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

Li stated that he expected “Maglev” to boost wind energy generating capacity by as much as 20 percent over traditional wind turbines, which could cut operational expenses in half. Another feature was the ability of the “Maglev” to utilize winds with starting speeds as low as 1.5 meters per second (m/s), and cut-in speeds of 3 m/s, which Li anticipated could keep overall cost under 0.4 yuan ($US 5 cents) per killowatt. “When compared with the operational hours of existing wind turbines, the new technology will add an additional 1,000 hours of operation annually to wind power plants in areas with an average wind speed of 3 m/s.”

The problem of the traditional wind turbines is that the speed of wind is not fast enough to make the engine start. However, in fact the reason why the engine can not be started is that the mechanical friction between the generator bearings is too great. Now, this problem has been solved by Chinese scientists. Recently, the full-permanent magnetic levitation (Maglev) wind power generator that was jointly developed by the Guangzhou Energy Research Institute under China's Academy of Sciences and by Guangzhou Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Science & Technology Co. has come into being in Guangzhou.

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