Patent ID: 7098552

Claim:
A wind energy conversion system comprising a wind turbine including a stator, a blade assembly mounted for rotation about a vertical rotation axis in response to air flow through said wind turbine and a rotor carried by said blade assembly for rotation past said stator to produce an electrical output; a hood disposed over said wind turbine defining an intake air passage for supplying intake air to said wind turbine, said hood having an intake opening facing lateral to said vertical rotation axis for taking in intake air and a discharge opening for discharging the intake air toward said wind turbine, said hood being rotatable about said vertical rotation axis to maintain said intake opening facing upwind; an exhaust plenum disposed beneath said wind turbine defining an exhaust passage for exhausting air away from said wind turbine, said exhaust plenum having an outlet opening facing away from said vertical rotation axis for exhausting the air from said exhaust plenum, said exhaust plenum being rotatable about said vertical rotation axis to maintain said outlet opening facing downwind; and a tower supporting said wind turbine in an elevated position above the ground and a drive mechanism for rotating said exhaust plenum about said vertical rotation axis in response to rotation of said hood about said vertical rotation axis.