Patent ID: 8178987

Claim:
A wind turbine comprising: a support; a rotating frame having a central axis of rotation supported by said support for rotation about said central axis, said rotating frame having a rim and a plurality of radially extending arms; a plurality of wind turbine blades mounted to and supported by said arms of said rotating frame, each of said blades having a blade tip and a blade tip speed; a magnet having a magnetic flux supported by said rim of said rotating frame and spaced outwardly from said central axis of rotation and having an angular velocity approximately equal to or greater than the blade tip speed of said blades, said magnet being mounted to said rim of said rotating frame independent of said blades in a manner such that the weight of said magnet is not borne by said blades and instead is borne by said rotating frame; and a conductive circuit, said circuit being sufficiently close to said magnet wherein the magnetic flux of said magnet induces current flow in said circuit when said magnet is moved by said circuit.