The wind was blowing from the field: the new turbine will provide electricity to the northern settlements

Russia has developed a compact wind turbine that can generate energy even with very weak winds — from 0.5 m/s. The first sample has already been tested, and now the authors of the project are creating a more powerful version for weather stations, industrial facilities and northern villages, where the delivery of fuel for diesel generators is especially expensive. Experts believe that the technology has the greatest potential in Magadan and Yakutia, in Chukotka and Kamchatka. At the same time, they believe that in the coming years such installations are unlikely to completely replace diesel power plants.

Providing light to northern settlements

Russian engineers have created a compact wind turbine with magnetic levitation of the rotor. Unlike traditional wind turbines, in the new design, the rotating element is held in the magnetic field of neodymium magnets. Due to this, there is practically no mechanical friction, and bearing wear and maintenance requirements are reduced.

This feature allows the turbine to start already at a wind speed of 0.5 m/s. Many classic installations require an air flow of several meters per second. For the northern territories, where the wind is often weak or changeable, this can be crucial, said Andrey Kuznetsov, project manager.

— We expect that the magnetic suspension will reduce wear by about 95%, reduce noise levels to 30 dB and increase efficiency by about 20% compared to traditional designs. The stated service interval is from five to ten years, and the total service life is up to 50 years," he explained. — At the same time, all these indicators have yet to be confirmed during long-term operation and certification tests.

Scientists manufactured and tested the first functional 350-watt sample back in November 2025. The team is currently developing an installation with a capacity of 1-1.15 kW, and in the future it expects to bring the production model to the level of 1.5–2 kW.

During the first tests, the installation at a wind speed of 10 m/s developed a power of 350 Watts at a voltage of 12.4 V. The straining speed, the minimum speed at which the mechanism begins to move, was 1.8 m/s. According to the developers, further refinement of the design made it possible to bring the launch closer to 0.5 m/s.

The main consumers of the technology may be oil and gas and mining enterprises, weather stations, transport infrastructure facilities, small towns and private homes in areas with unstable electricity supply. According to the project team, the use of such installations as part of autonomous power systems can reduce energy costs for such facilities by about 40%.

"The project" passed the accelerator "Startup Polygon III" of Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, received the status of a Skolkovo resident and was included in the register of small technology companies of the Tomsk region. In addition, the development was included in the top 100 of the forum "Strong ideas for a new age – 2026".

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A light wind becomes an advantage

The economic efficiency of such solutions directly depends on the installation location, Nadezhda Zamyatina, director of the Center for Arctic and Northern Urban Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told "Izvestia".

— First of all, such installations are in demand at facilities that are not connected to the unified energy system: in remote villages, fields and other sites where electricity has to be generated independently. In the main Russian settlement area, such projects pay off much worse than in Western European countries, which is related to electricity tariffs and market regulation," she noted.

At the same time, not only the ability of the turbine to operate in low winds, but also ease of operation is critically important for the northern territories.

— A complex innovative installation may require a qualified specialist, who simply does not exist in a small village. And the travel expenses of such specialists can significantly increase the cost of operation. Therefore, reliability and the possibility of on—site maintenance are especially important for such technologies," the expert added.

The technology has the greatest potential in the Arctic zone, Yakutia, Chukotka, Kamchatka and the Magadan region, according to NTI expert on new materials and technologies Evgeny Vishnevsky.

— Many villages there receive fuel as part of the northern supply, so the cost of a kilowatt-hour of diesel generation is significantly higher than in the central regions. At the same time, classical wind turbines do not always work effectively in weak or changeable winds," he explained.

According to him, such installations are unlikely to completely replace diesel power plants in the coming years. The most realistic scenario would be a hybrid scheme where wind, solar generation, energy storage and diesel work together.

— This combination allows you to significantly reduce fuel consumption and increase the reliability of energy supply. However, the key question now is whether the new turbine will be able to confirm the declared characteristics after many years of operation in the Arctic climate," the expert emphasized.

If the developers manage to prove the effectiveness of the turbine during long-term tests, such installations will be able to occupy a niche of autonomous energy where traditional wind turbines and diesel power plants remain the only solution today.