Patent ID: 8303250

Claim:
A lift generating apparatus for a wind turbine rotor blade comprising a first sidewall and an opposing second sidewall coupled together at a leading edge and at a trailing edge, said lift generating apparatus comprising: at least one forward blade extension coupled to the rotor blade to define a first airflow channel between said forward blade extension and the rotor blade; and, at least one aft blade extension coupled to the rotor blade to define a second airflow channel between said aft blade extension and the rotor blade, wherein the rotor blade has an airfoil-shaped aerodynamic profile, the second sidewall of the rotor blade defines a pressure surface, and the aft blade extension is positioned such that at least a portion of a suction surface of the aft blade extension extends along the pressure surface of the rotor blade, wherein the first sidewall defines a suction surface, said forward blade extension extends along at least a portion of the suction surface, and wherein said second airflow channel comprises an inlet and has a cross-sectional width that is substantially constant from said inlet to the trailing edge and the rotor blade has a cross-section and a centerline of the cross-section, said forward blade extension extends along the suction surface past the centerline and towards the trailing edge.