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US 8,938,967 B2Granted
Hybrid wind turbine
OwnerThomas McMasterinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical power generation system comprising a tower, a nacelle supported by the tower, a wind turbine system supported on the nacelle, a fuel cell system, a battery system, a hybrid solar/fuel cell system; and a fuel line extending through at least a portion of the tower and to the fuel cell system.
Claims13
An electrical power generation system comprising:
- a tower;
- a nacelle supported by the tower;
- a wind turbine system supported on the nacelle, where the wind turbine system generates electrical power from wind;
- a fuel line extending through at least a portion of the tower;
- a fuel cell system arranged at least partly within the tower and the nacelle, where the fuel cell system
- generates electrical power from fuel carried by the fuel line, and
- transfers waste heat to fuel cell exhaust gas;
- a solar absorber supported by the tower, where the solar absorber transfers solar heat to a solar absorber heat transfer fluid;
- and
- a heat recovery system, where the heat recovery system converts heat carried by at least one of the fuel cell exhaust gas and the solar absorber heat transfer fluid into electrical power.
7 more elements
A method generating electrical power comprising the steps of:
- providing a tower;
- supporting a nacelle on the tower;
- supporting a wind turbine system on the nacelle such that wind causes the wind turbine system to generate electrical power;
- supporting at least a portion of a fuel cell system within at least one of the tower and the nacelle;
- extending a fuel line extending through at least a portion of the tower;
- connecting the fuel line to the fuel cell system such that the fuel cell system generates electrical power from fuel carried by the fuel line, and transfers waste heat to fuel cell exhaust gas;
- supporting a solar absorber on the tower, where solar heat absorbed by the solar absorber is transferred to a solar absorber heat transfer fluid;
- and
- operating a heat recovery system to convert heat carried by at least one of the fuel cell exhaust gas and the solar absorber heat transfer fluid into electrical power.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.