Just in case you didn’t see it you can read it here

Mary Geddry, CEO of Coquille-based Rogue River Winds, said the ultra-efficient, low-profile, sturdy wind turbine with a built-in generator called the V-LIM, is generating interest.

She’s gearing up production. But don’t expect any local manufacturing jobs to spin out of it — at least not anytime soon.

“There just isn’t the infrastructure in Coos County at this time,” she said.

After attempts to get the V-LIM off the ground locally failed, Geddry relocated the project to Portland where a prototype was in the works, before she again relocated it to Cottage Grove where it was completed and may be manufactured.

She said some manufacturers in Alaska and the East Coast have expressed interest in producing it, as well.

Federal agencies including the DoD are under heavy pressure to meet 25% of their energy needs from renewable sources.

Driven by new government requirements that call for each military branch to purchase or generate at least 25 percent of the energy they use from renewable sources by 2025, the project is funded by a $4 million federal investment under the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill…

One factor causing concern with wind energy is the belief that traditional wind turbines interfere with radar, hence the interest in a low profile system like the V-LIM.

The first power curves for the V-LIM are done and I will publish them here after some additional verification soon. We have learned a lot from these tests, have changed the magnet topology for a more focused flux and will segment the stator for faster saturation in the production models. Even without these changes we outperform our competitors and after such a long hard struggle, I can’t tell if I am happy or just relieved to be past this point. Am definitely exhausted.

More data soon to come, here and at Rogue River Wind.

This week I filed my patent with the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) through the World Intellectual Property Organization. The USPTO allows an inventor the option of whether to publish the application or not, I chose not to to avoid the IP being exposed as long as possible. The PCT does not afford such an option and the patent is now ‘out there’ for all to see.

The consequence of this is that organizations that monitor new filings have flooded me with inquiries. All to the good but coming at a time when we are fine tuning the generator to spin up and test.

Needless to say, as a new inventor, I am pretty excited.

As noted here before, the Chinese have a near monopoly on the production of high-gauss neodymium magnets crucial to the production of electricity. Now, a once abandoned mine in Mountain Pass, California is being reopened to try and minimize the dangers of geopolitical concerns and the supply of rare earths.

These minerals, such as samarium and neodymium, are prized for chemical properties that make them indispensable in a variety of industrial and military uses, including polishing glass, oil refining and manufacturing missile guidance systems.

They also play a crucial role in the development of “green” technologies such as hybrid cars, wind turbines and compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Heat-resistant magnets made with rare-earth alloys are key components of the electric motor in the Toyota Prius, for example.

Mining operations ceased at Mountain Pass in 2002 amid environmental concerns and cut-rate competition from China, although processing of previously dug ore continues. [Emphasis mine]

Given my company, Rogue River Wind, Ltd, hopes to manufacture our products in the US we are hopeful that environmentally safe mining practices can be maintained in Mountain Pass to provide the neodymium magnets we presently buy from China.

Monday we will be moving the V-LIM wind turbine/generator prototype to a super secret location for some adaptations and testing. It has been a long hard slog getting to this point and we are both exuberant and exhausted. Will post pictures in a few days.

Many people have been asking me for updates on the V-LIM wind turbine and the Western Oregon Wind (WOW) project. After trying for almost two years to build the prototype in Coos County late in April it became apparent the project would have to be moved to Portland. The move was necessary in order to complete the LIM within a reasonable time period, stay within some semblance of a budget and maintain tolerances and achieve the best possible structural integrity.

To date every part fabricated in Coos County had to be replaced for one reason or another. Ceramic coatings applied to the stator and coils failed causing multiple shorts and every coil has been rewound. The axle has been redesigned and remade, bearings replaced, the support yoke completely reconfigured for strength and a proper base built.

All this has tripled the original cost projections and put Rogue River Wind, Ltd almost one year behind schedule.
Despite these costly setbacks the first spin tests for the LIM and the direct drive DC generator designed with the assistance of Portland State University and Dr Gerald Sheblé will take place in about ten days. Dr Sheblé, now living and working for the University of Portugal in Porto, is in the US to preside over the testing.

Also assisting with the electrical engineering and the incorporation of a unique new capacitive inverter grid intertie circuit allowing the LIM to ‘plug and play’ is Dr Stanley Marquiss. Dr Marquiss is the inventor of the ducted fan wind turbine from which much of the patentable aerodynamic features of the V-LIM evolved.

The WOW project did not pass the House Energy and Water subcommittee, however, Congressman DeFazio has encouraged us to pursue the matter in the Senate. If the Senate includes funding for the project in its annual Energy funding bill, Mr. DeFazio will support the mark when the bill is conferenced by the House and Senate.

WOW can still be accomplished but without the federal appropriation must rely upon tax credits and incentives to finance the project and will require private not public ownership of the project. Rogue River Wind is already heavily committed to developing similar projects with partners in other states precluding any private efforts in Coos County at this time.

More on this when I get back from Portland but the talk will be about local revenue production through energy generation and keeping those dollars in the community. Decentralized power will be a big factor in the discussion as well.

Join me at noon, Saturday if you can ( I believe there will be some shade ).