Wind-turbine firm finds key partner

A Minden company developing an advanced wind-turbine technology believes a recent deal with a California manufacturer may be a critical step forward.

The northern Nevada company, Prime Energy Corp., holds nine U.S.

patents on its wind-turbine a nonpropeller system that runs silently to produce anywhere from 100 watts to 25 kilowatts.

Prime Energy has been stymied, however, because the low speed of its turbine it can operate at speeds as low as 50 rpm hasn't fit well with generators on the market.

President Alan Caldwell said last week, however, that Prime Energy has struck a deal with Empire Magnetics Inc.

of Rohnert Park, Calif., which has developed a generator that produces power at low turbine speeds.

Empire Magnetics is working with Russian scientists who previously were employed in that nation's nuclear weapons program.

Combining private capital with U.S.

government payments to keep those workers out of the weapons business, Empire Magnetics is looking to raise $6 million to begin production of a new wind-power system.

Prime Energy's turbine, which uses a different technology than the one developed by the Russian scientists, may be marketed as part of the Empire Magnetics package, Caldwell said.

After making a heavy investment to develop its wind-turbine technology, Prime Energy this summer began seeking investors to put up the money to prepare marketing plans and begin production of its system.

That work could begin early next year.

Another round of financing to begin manufacturing inhouse will be needed in 2004.

So far, Caldwell acknowledged, he hasn't had much interest from venture capital firms.

"They've lost their venturesome spirit," he said.

"They've become investment bankers."

Caldwell remains confident, however, that the company's wind-generation system will find its place, particularly in remote areas where extension of traditional utility grids is unlikely.

Prime Energy has developed a product, for instance, that simultaneously pumps water for livestock and heats it to keep stock tanks from freezing.

This, he said, will allow ranchers to keep cattle on the range and out of expensive feeding programs longer each year.

The company quotes U.S.

Department of Energy estimates small wind turbines could meet as much as 8 percent of the country's electric demand by 2020.