Patent ID: 7942624

Claim:
A vertical axis wind turbine that is economical to build and scalable from scores to hundreds of feet, comprising a. a stationary main vertical support shaft, b. a rotating shaft mounted about and supported by said vertical support shaft, c. a vertical axis wind turbine rotor provided by two vertically separated equal diameter rings attached to said rotating shaft and to each other by a plurality of equal length vertical connections, d. a plurality of plates attached to the vertical connections by hinges and restrained by a plurality of cables attached to said plates, e. a gearbox connecting said rotating shaft to an electrical generator to produce electricity, f. a plurality of cat-head winches coupled to said cables and mounted to the rings, said winches being independently electrically controlled to incrementally adjust the length of said cables and thereby optimize the open position of the plates and to fully retract said cables so as to place the plates in a fully closed position, g. a conducting rail, beneath and contiguous with the lower ring so as to magnetically levitate the wind turbine to reduce friction, and h. a brake to cease rotation of said rotating shaft when said plates are in their fully closed position.