One of the most critical parts of a small wind turbine is the generator. As far as I know, simple and cheap direct drive 3-phase permanent magnet (PM) generators are not available on the market. For my current range of VIRYA windmills, I therefore have developed a range of PM-generators. These generators are derived from standard asynchronous 4-pole, 3-phase motors by replacing the original shaft and short-circuit armature by a stainless steel shaft and a mild steel armature which is provided by neodymium magnets. These generators are described in public report KD 341 (ref. 1). These generators are very strong and have good characteristics. The sticking torque is not fluctuating because the armature poles are making a certain angle with the axis. This facilitates starting of the rotor at low wind speeds.