<p>The Savonius rotor is a type of vertical-axis wind turbine used for harnessing wind power. Generally, the rotor of a Savonius turbine is assembled on a vertical shaft, which is mounted on a thrust bearing. A commonly used thrust bearing is a sort of ball bearing that holds the spinning rotor. The entire rotor’s weight is borne by the thrust bearing. Due to the weight of the rotor, it imparts a normal reaction force on the bearing, which develops a significant amount of solid friction force. The induced friction results in energy loss while in operation. In this research, the thrust bearing is completely replaced by a concept in which no solid friction is involved, i.e., Floating Pontoon Hydrostatic Bearing (FPHB). In the system, the rotor weight is supported by the buoyant force of water rather than a conventional thrust bearing. This completely eliminates the solid-contact friction. Unlike conventional hydrostatic bearings that require pressurized fluid supply, the proposed system passively converts solid friction losses into low viscous drag, resulting in improved torque and power coefficients as well as significantly reduced cut-in wind speed. It reduced the friction losses of the rotor to a significant level and performance improvement is observed.</p>