China is kicking off construction on the largest magnetic levitation wind generators in the world. About $53 million dollars has been invested in building the base for the generators, which is expected to bring in close to $214 million per year! Nice return.
The base will produce a series of maglev wind power generators with capacities ranging from 400 to 5,000 watts in the first half of 2008, said a company statement.
The largest benefit of this new form of wind generation is that it can take advantage of lower wind speeds to create energy. Traditional turbines have had to rely on strong, consistent wind for production. Maglev technology allows energy to be created with speeds as low as 3mph! From the article,
“The frictionless maglev generator would cut the operational expenses of wind farms by up to half, keeping the overall cost of wind power under 0.4 yuan per kilowatt-hour, said Li. The Zhongke company said the generator could be used on islands, in observatories, and television transfer stations, and even provide roadside lighting along highways by utilizing the airflow generated from passing vehicles.”
via china view
re photo: this is the only representation of a vertical-axis maglev turbine I could find. I have no idea if China’s turbine system will look anything remotely like this image.
