A Scottish company is harnessing wind energy with kites-technology so efficient and low cost that it needs no government subsidies for research and implementation. With rotating kites like this one connected to generator systems, Scotland could be 100% powered by wind energy in the coming decades (image via kitepowersolutions.)
In case you were wondering why it’s taken so long, at last it’s finally happening: kites are generating wind power. (It's not new, but they might be close to a deploying it.)
Wind power is seeing a boom even on the small scale, with small scale turbines designed for single homes developed a few years ago. There’s still a sizable investment for micro power machines, however, which can run into the thousands of dollars, requiring a sizable investment for single family homes, and significant government subsidies to launch national initiatives. That’s part of what makes this system, developed by Scottish company Kite Power Solutions, so neat. The kites, each about 40 meters long, are so cheap to develop that the company currently needs no government subsidies, and the kites generate so much energy that an entire region in Scotland could be powered solely through wind energy by 2025.
It’s taken some tweaking to get the system to a place where it’s competitively cheap to use. Prior systems had attached kites to wind turbines on boats off the coast. The kites generate wind power by taking advantage of the near-constant wind in the gulf stream, occurring between 15,000 and 20,000 feet above sea level. The kites are attached to a tether, which in turn is anchored to a generator gearbox, which converts the mechanical energy of wind motion into electricity.The kites are fully compliant with grid systems. Because they can fly up to heights of about 14,000 feet, kites can capture wind energy in regions where it wouldn’t be feasible to build wind turbines. Additionally, this particular region of Scotland is exceptionally windy, and it’s estimated that the kites will be active 355 days a year. Because each kite generates between 2 and 3 megawatts of energy-comparable to turbines-new power plant will generate 500 kilowatts.
According to further estimates, a field of 1,000 kites would generate as much energy as a nearby nuclear power plant. Will kites be a magic bullet that provides environmentally sustainable and cheap energy? Investors like Bill Gates and Dutch Shell Oil company hope so. That it will completely solve civilization’s energy problems is doubtful, but if successful, you can look forward to kites powering cities near you.
A little critique....From their Q&A:
Q: How does the KPS system impact the natural environment?
A: This is an area of ongoing research. The main area of concern will be birds, the initial assessment suggests that the impacts should be equivalent to or less than current wind turbine technology. The visual impact of the system should be lower.
What does that mean? Oh, just about 176 million birds killed a year thanks to wind generation.
Have a story tip? Message me at: cabe(at)element14(dot)com
http://twitter.com/Cabe_Atwell