Living Car Free - MagLev Wind Turbine, said to be as "powerful" as 1500 regular turbines

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/

There was an article about a year ago on a Japanese researcher who had figured out a way to make a wind turbine with virtually zero friction using magnetic levitation. Apparently, it's now come to fruition.

A maglev wind turbine has actually been created and they've now started building a facility to manufacture them in China.

For comparison, to power approximately 750,000 homes (the amount 1 MagLev turbine can power):

Current Wind Turbines
-----------------------------
* Would require 1500 regular wind turbines
* The turbines would occupy 96,000 acres

MagLev Wind Turbine
------------------------------
* Would require only 1
* Would occupy 100 acres
* Has a claimed 50% decrease in operational cost over the regular turbines

No idea how accurate their numbers are but if it's even 1/10 accurate, this is a HUGE improvement over current wind turbine capacity.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/
...
A maglev wind turbine has actually been created and they've now started building a facility to manufacture them in China.

For comparison, to power approximately 750,000 homes (the amount 1 MagLev turbine can power):
....
No idea how accurate their numbers are but if it's even 1/10 accurate, this is a HUGE improvement over current wind turbine capacity.
This story sounds like a few facts and a lot of P.R. dreams.

The article notes that-

... Construction began on the world’s largest production site for maglev wind turbines in central China on November 5, 2007. Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology has invested 400 million yuan in building this facility, which will produce maglev wind turbines with capacities ranging from 400 to 5,000 Watts. ...

Ummm, 5000 watts doesn't sound like it's gonna power 750,000 homes real well.
:rolleyes:

I was not aware that bearing frictional losses were any major restriction to wind power.
The two main uses I've heard of for magnetic suspension is for lab equipment that turns at very-high RPM's (like, 100,000+ RPM's), and for the Japanese maglev trains.
The trains use it mostly for suspension, not because frictional losses prevent them from propelling a regular wheel-and-axle train by conventional means to 300 mph.

A couple things I DO know however--
Firstly, a windmill is limited in power output to the cross-section of the area it can directly sweep--and secondly, vertical-axis windmills have been generally discarded for horizontal-axis types because all the blades of a vertical-axis windmill don't get direct wind all the time.
~

Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology has invested 400 million yuan in building this facility, which will produce maglev wind turbines with capacities ranging from 400 to 5,000 Watts. In the US, Arizona-based MagLev Wind Turbine Technologies will be manufacturing these turbines. Headed by long-time renewable energy researcher Ed Mazur, the company claims that it will be able to deliver clean power for less than one cent per kilowatt hour with this new technology. It also points out that building a single giant maglev wind turbine would reduce construction and maintenance costs and require much less land than hundreds of conventional turbines. The estimated cost of building this colossal structure is $53 million.

400 million yuan is roughly equal to about $78 isn't it? :p

400 million yuan is roughly equal to about $78 isn't it? :p

Before or after the devaluation of the dollar:rolleyes:

(actually it is about 54 million usd.;))

Aaron:)

They may have a technology to make one enormous wind machine instead of lots of little ones. But it's not like conventional wind machines lose 99% of their power to friction. They DO have bearings, it's not big wood windmill-gears in there.

Easy "super-duper energy breakthrough" acid test: Where's the heat?

If it was an improvement in blade efficiency or a generator breakthrough, that could conceivably be argued to result from currently uncaptured energy, but this time it's bearings, a friction loss component. If friction is the culprit, then we should be seeing an amount of energy greater than, or at least equal to (to be conservative), that efficiency improvement currently being lost as heat. If that much heat would, in this case, convert the bearings into a glowing, liquid state, then the claim is probably overstated.

[edit] Ha! StephenH beat me to the friction...

The article is doing a bait and switch job. It starts out discussing magnetic bearings (which are not new technology) and postulates a wind turbine of a completely different blade design as being some fantastic breakthrough. But the giant super wind turbine hasn't been designed, let alone built. And the Chinese factory is going to make small wind turbines that will generate about enough power to run a couple hair dryers. Not 750,000 houses. At least not 750,000 American houses with 2.5 hair dryers each.

Before or after the devaluation of the dollar:rolleyes:

(actually it is about 54 million usd.;))

Aaron:)

Isn't the yuan still pegged to the US dollar?

Isn't the yuan still pegged to the US dollar?

Not since July 21, 2005, when its value became pegged to "a basket of currencies".

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=yuan+pegged+to+dollar

Ummm, 5000 watts doesn't sound like it's gonna power 750,000 homes real well.
Must be MW. Earlier it says up to one gigawatt.

And you really can't compare new bearings to old bearings. This is a totally new design. Maybe magnetic bearings allow them to build something this big.

How long before one gets built? Five years? Eight?

Must be MW. Earlier it says up to one gigawatt.

And you really can't compare new bearings to old bearings. This is a totally new design. Maybe magnetic bearings allow them to build something this big.

How long before one gets built? Five years? Eight?

Just for reference, the Hoover Dam's published power production rating is two gigawatts.

What scares me about the Maglev is its sheer size... once again the power of the megaproject.

Another windmill design I've heard of is the Dutch "Turby" which is designed for urban rooftops, small scale, relatively quiet... It is about 10feet by 6. It is priced around 11,466 Euros (which may be a gazillion USD by now... but that's another story...)

"Turby is a revolutionary vertical axis wind turbine designed for use in an urban or built-up environments. It is a 2.5 kilowatt wind generator designed for high rooftops and can generate enough electricity to reduce the electric bill of a typical home by two thirds. The Turby has 3 helically shaped composite blades located at a fixed distance from the shaft. It has very low vibrations, very low noise level and an excellent efficiency."
-quoted from http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/04/turby_vertical_.html

MagLev Wind Turbine
------------------------------
* Would require only 1
* Would occupy 100 acres
* Has a claimed 50% decrease in operational cost over the regular turbines

No idea how accurate their numbers are but if it's even 1/10 accurate, this is a HUGE improvement over current wind turbine capacity.

I'll believe it when I see it.

I think it's quite possible an advance like this will take place in wind power, but I also think it's quite possible it won't. Until they have it built, they won't know how well it will work. Right now all I can say for it is, it sounds more plausible than the claims I've heard of a rocket to the moon that can be built in my backyard for a few thousand bucks.

Math is fun, too. Currently constructed wind farms average around 5000 watts per acre, in optimal conditions. 5000 watts x 96,000 acres comes up short of the 1 gigawatt equivalency claim by 52%. You think they'd take the opportunity to stack the deck in their favor, but oops, they came up short by more than half.

They sure didn't pass up the chance with 1,000,000,000 watts powering 750,000 homes! That's 1,333 watts each, two thirds of enough power to run my toaster.

Peak operating windspeed is claimed to exceed 40 meters per second. Well, that's 90 mph. One gigawatt of power produced at 90 mph windspeed. All we need is a year-round hurricane to build it in, and we're set!

Squatting on 100 acres, we'd have a 2,355 foot diameter skyscraper.

Not just any skyscraper, but by far the tallest building on Earth if that picture's anywhere near scale! Not just the tallest, it would also be far wider than the current tallest building is tall! And it spins! The billions of dollars worth of raw materials float on a cushion of magnetic repulsion, making it the largest single moving object ever built! For $53 million dollars. Sounds like pocket change all of a sudden.

I agree that this story and the giant windmill is complete vaporware, however it will be interesting to see if the smaller "consumer grade" windmills can make it to market.

This type of vertical windmill is much less efficient than the traditional propeller style windmills because the wind is blowing over the other side of the windmill, which slows it down.

Fairly easy to build a small one yourself with some ducting, a couple plywood rounds, magnets and copper wire, however it's also pretty easy to build a traditional one yourself with pvc pipe, a treadmill motor and some threaded metal pipe. These are small output windmills and in no way are able to be used to get you off the grid. To do that you would either have to install many more windmills, or scale up the windmill into a 12' beheamouth with real wood blades.

I agree that this story and the giant windmill is complete vaporware, however it will be interesting to see if the smaller "consumer grade" windmills can make it to market.

This type of vertical windmill is much less efficient than the traditional propeller style windmills because the wind is blowing over the other side of the windmill, which slows it down.

Fairly easy to build a small one yourself with some ducting, a couple plywood rounds, magnets and copper wire, however it's also pretty easy to build a traditional one yourself with pvc pipe, a treadmill motor and some threaded metal pipe. These are small output windmills and in no way are able to be used to get you off the grid. To do that you would either have to install many more windmills, or scale up the windmill into a 12' beheamouth with real wood blades.

Any chance you could post a "how-to" online? Complete with exactly what parts to buy, pictures of how to do it, etc?

Any chance you could post a "how-to" online? Complete with exactly what parts to buy, pictures of how to do it, etc?

yeah, let me hunt through my bookmarks:

VAWT: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Savonius-Wind-Turbine-or-VAWT-to-make-elec/


traditional pvc/treadmill motor turbine: http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index.html

I would recommend just buying the charge controller, unless you are pretty handy with electronics, otherwise the rest of the stuff is pretty basic.

Somewhere around here is a link to build a wind generator (http://www.gotwind.org/Original_Windgen.htm) using an S-A Dynohub:D

Aaron:)

http://otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html

Scroll down. More than you ever wanted to know!

yeah, let me hunt through my bookmarks:

VAWT: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Savonius-Wind-Turbine-or-VAWT-to-make-elec/


traditional pvc/treadmill motor turbine: http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index.html

I would recommend just buying the charge controller, unless you are pretty handy with electronics, otherwise the rest of the stuff is pretty basic.

Thanks, I haven't had a chance to go through all the details but is it a MagLev wind turbine?

probably in this case, using electrodynamic suspension to reduce the friction, but they haven't mentioned how they will overcome the inherent efficiency problems with the VAWT style turbine over a traditional turbine.

wiki on maglev trains which use the same technology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev_train

personally, I think the future of windpower lies way up higher in the atmosphere where wind speed is constant. They just need to develop a technology to harness the power and transport it back to earth.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/31/flying-windmills-could-provide-limitless-power/

it overcomes the #1 problem with wind power, its reliability. However, we are probably 25-50 years away from that being a viable solution, so it will be a race over who comes out of vaporware phase first, the maglev VAWT or the jetstream windmill.

Thanks, I haven't had a chance to go through all the details but is it a MagLev wind turbine?

no, however, it wouldn't be to difficult to add maglev technology to the VAWT, but at that size I don't really see what the benefit would be, which is why I'm now questioning how successful they will be with the small scale versions of these.

Heck, Costco is selling traditional 400-900W traditional wind turbines right now. I doubt we'll see the turbines mentioned in the story within the next five years, if at all, but we'll see.

Not since July 21, 2005, when its value became pegged to "a basket of currencies".

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=yuan+pegged+to+dollar

As opposed to the dollar, which is in "the waste basket of currencies." ;)

What scares me about the Maglev is its sheer size... once again the power of the megaproject.

Another windmill design I've heard of is the Dutch "Turby" which is designed for urban rooftops, small scale, relatively quiet... It is about 10feet by 6. It is priced around 11,466 Euros (which may be a gazillion USD by now... but that's another story...)

"Turby is a revolutionary vertical axis wind turbine designed for use in an urban or built-up environments. It is a 2.5 kilowatt wind generator designed for high rooftops and can generate enough electricity to reduce the electric bill of a typical home by two thirds. The Turby has 3 helically shaped composite blades located at a fixed distance from the shaft. It has very low vibrations, very low noise level and an excellent efficiency."
-quoted from http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/04/turby_vertical_.html

That's more like it. Think about every household having a turby (or PV array) that produces, say, 30 per cent of their electricity. Then imagine every household also reducing usage of grid power by another 30 per cent through efficiency and conservation. All of a sudden the problems of global warming and peak fossil seem much less insurmountable--and with little decline in lifestyle.

no, however, it wouldn't be to difficult to add maglev technology to the VAWT, but at that size I don't really see what the benefit would be, which is why I'm now questioning how successful they will be with the small scale versions of these.

Heck, Costco is selling traditional 400-900W traditional wind turbines right now. I doubt we'll see the turbines mentioned in the story within the next five years, if at all, but we'll see.

The benefit is supposed to be that it can generate electricity at much, much lower wind speeds.

That's more like it. Think about every household having a turby (or PV array) that produces, say, 30 per cent of their electricity. Then imagine every household also reducing usage of grid power by another 30 per cent through efficiency and conservation. All of a sudden the problems of global warming and peak fossil seem much less insurmountable--and with little decline in lifestyle.

The more I read about it, the more I think a solar array would be a much better way to go, particularly for my house. Wind speeds are pretty constant in the MidWest, but in cities the wind is frequently blocked by other buildings. That's why my commute in the morning is often a lot more pleasant than if I were cycling out in the country.

Here's a pretty good source on wind energy for residential purposes.
http://www.awea.org/faq/rsdntqa.html



How do residential wind turbines work?

A wind turbine, which is installed on top of a tall tower, collects kinetic energy from the wind and converts it to electricity that is compatible with a home's electrical system.

In a normal residential application, a home is served simultaneously by the wind turbine and a local utility. If the wind speeds are below cut-in speed (7-10 mph) there will be no output from the turbine and all of the needed power is purchased from the utility. As wind speeds increase, turbine output increases and the amount of power purchased from the utility is proportionately decreased. When the turbine produces more power than the house needs, the extra electricity is sold to the utility. All of this is done automatically. There are no batteries in a modern residential wind system.

Small wind systems for remote applications operate somewhat differently.


Will a small wind turbine save me money?

The wind turbine typically lowers your electricity bill by 50 to 90 percent. It is not uncommon for wind turbine owners with total-electric homes to have monthly utility bills of only $8 to $15 for nine months of the year. In northern parts of the country where less air conditioning is used the bills can be very low year-round. The amount of money a small wind turbine saves you in the long run will depend upon its cost, the amount of electricity you use, the average wind speed at your site, and other factors.

Who should consider buying a wind turbine?

A residential wind turbine can be a relatively large device and is not suitable for urban or small-lot suburban homes. Except for very small wind turbines (i.e., with rotors one meter or less in diameter) on very small towers, a property size of one acre or more is desirable.



As you can see there might be a few issues with a wind turbine in your urban dwelling. I'm not sure that the Turby would even work for smaller homes.

"And you really can't compare new bearings to old bearings."

Actually, you can. How much power is lost in a typical bearing? It's not much. If someone comes up with a superdeeduper bearing for your bike and says it'll let you go 2% faster, you might believe that. If they say their new bearing will let us all pedal around at 75 MPH, you'll know it's hogwash- we just don't lose that much energy in bearings, and you're not going to gain back more than what you lose.

As for generating power at lower wind speeds- that sounds good, but the problem is there's simply much less power available.

As to impact on global warming, that's debatable. There seems to be an idea that if we use less fuel, or use it more efficiently, we'll "fix" global warming. At best, we'd slow it down a hair. There's still no proposed line of action to reduce CO2 already in the atmosphere, and we're going to add to it, at either a high rate or a slightly less high rate.

[....]
As to impact on global warming, that's debatable. There seems to be an idea that if we use less fuel, or use it more efficiently, we'll "fix" global warming. At best, we'd slow it down a hair.

Slowing down global warming by a hair is a worthy goal to start with, considering how much we're speeding it up right now. The scientific consensus (as you suggested) is that it's too late to stop global warming, but we can greatly mitigate it if we start working on it now. I think the key step is to sharply curtail the burning of fossil fuel.


There's still no proposed line of action to reduce CO2 already in the atmosphere, and we're going to add to it, at either a high rate or a slightly less high rate.[/size]

Actually, there have been many proposals for reducing atmospheric CO2. I'm sure there will be many more, if it comes to that (and it probably will come to that). I think that we've inadvertently "terraformed" Earth by pumping CO2 into the atmosphere; we may have to terraform it a second time--deliberately--in order to remove that CO2.

"And you really can't compare new bearings to old bearings."

Actually, you can.
I meant that if the design were otherwise the same, you could, but it isn't. The load on the bearings in this design is several orders of magnitude higher. It's like comparing bike bearings to semi truck bearings.