Permanent Magnet Wind Generators: Neodymium vs. Ferrite Magnets

Abstract

Renewable energy is an environmentally friendly and effective solution to ensure security of energy supply which is becoming more critical as well as increasing population. The share of electricity generation based on wind energy among renewable energy sources in the world is increasing day by day in parallel with the development and design diversity in wind turbines and generators. This study is mainly focused on the effect of different magnet materials in permanent magnet synchronous wind generators based on recent trends in wind turbine generator technologies. Permanent magnet synchronous generators with Neodymium (NdFeB) and Ferrite type magnets are widely used in the small-scale wind turbine industry. In the present study, generator designs that have NdFeB and Ferrite (ceramic) magnets are given comparatively in terms of sizing, power density, magnet cost, product of energy (BHmax) rotor magnet configuration, accessibility to raw materials, supply chain and overall performances.