A system for energizing a main coil of superconducting magnet in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes a cryostat comprising a housing. A first coil is positioned within the housing of the cryostat. Alternatively, the first coil may be positioned external to the housing of the cryostat. A second coil is coupled to the first coil and positioned external to the housing of the cryostat. The second coil is configured to inductively couple to the main coil. A controller is coupled to the first coil and the second coil and is configured to control the first coil and the second coil to induce current in the main coil.