Patent ID: 8482144

Claim:
A wind turbine generator comprising: a rotor including a substantially vertical shaft and plurality of blades radially extending from the shaft, wherein the rotor is characterized by a breakaway torque that is greater than the torque required to maintain rotation; a generator operationally coupled to the rotor shaft; a rotatable airfoil shaped housing enclosing at least a portion of the rotor blades and exposing at least a portion of the rotor blades; a motor mechanism distinct from the generator operatively coupled to the rotor shaft; a reserve power source operatively coupled to the motor mechanism; one or more sensors adapted to determine wind speed; and a processor operatively coupled to the one or more sensors and the motor mechanism, wherein, in reaction to input received from the one or more sensors, the processor provides a control signal to the motor mechanism to assist the rotation of the rotor shaft when the wind speed is below the speed needed to induce breakaway torque and above the threshold required to rotate the rotor once the initial resistance is overcome, wherein, when assisting the rotation of the rotor shaft, the motor mechanism is powered by the reserve power source, wherein the reserve power source is controlled by the processor to recharge based on a charging schedule provided by the processor.