Wind energy is free and abundant, but we continue to have problems harnessing it efficiently. The present generation of
wind power plants are still plagued by the limited availability of windy sites and by the intermittency of the wind. In addition,
many people don't like to see giant turbines appearing on hills and ridges.
Ideally, we could solve the problems of intermittency and lack of sites if we could place the turbines higher up in the sky,
where the winds are stronger and more constant. But with the present technology, the supporting towers have already
reached their limits. Structures higher than the present ones (a hundred meters or so) would have to be too bulky and
expensive to be practical, to say nothing of the aesthetic problem.
A possible way to overcome the height problem would be to get rid of the tower altogether and use aerodynamic lift to
position the wind collecting unit high in the sky. In other words, to use kites. This idea has been already proposed in various
forms, but recently we hav e developed a simple and elegant concept that promises abundant energy at rock bottom costs:
the kite generator.
The advantage of using high flying kites is that it is possible to tap the energy of the strong - and relatively constant - winds
of these heights. Simulations can be used to estimate how much power a Kite Generator can provide and at what costs.
The results depend on size and we can see that a large scale Kite Generator could produce one to a few gigawatts of
power, the same as a nuclear plant, but at a much lower cost. Electrical power from a Kite Generator could cost, perhaps,
fifty times less than power produced by presently existing technologies.
These low costs, are derived from the essence of the concept: the Kite Generator is a simple machine, all its sophistication
is in the control software. If you own a game console you know that sophisticated software doesn't have to be expensive to
manufacture, once it has been designed. The Kite Generator is also safe: the kites are light sails which would do no
damage if they were to fall on the ground. It has a low visual impact. The footprint occupies a very small area: the area over
which kites fly can still be used for agriculture or as wilderness. Or, the Kite Generator can be built offshore, consuming no
land area at all.
One feature of the Kite Generator is that the kites occupy a relatively large 'bubble' of air space. This bubble would not
disturb airliners, which fly at much higher heights. It might interfere, however, with the flight of small planes and helicopters.
A way to keep this airspace as a no fly zone would need to be implemented, but this is not a major problem. The kites also
fly much higher than birds and the slowly moving cables don't present a threat larger than that of the already common
cables for power transmission and telephony.
There should be no need to remark how important the Kite Generator could be in the present situation, where the dwindling
supply of fossil fuels is causing all kinds of problems, from high prices of everything to resource wars. If Kite Generators
can perform as the simulations indicate, we could invert these trends and have energy that is clean, abundant and for free,
an energy that, moreover, can be produced almost anywhere. The old promise (never fulfilled) that nuclear plants could
give us electricity "too cheap to meter" could become a reality with the Kite Generators.
But, as always, we should avoid to be carried away by too much enthusiasm and keep a cool head. First, wind energy,
though abundant, is not infinite. No technology can provide us with infinite energy. The Kite Generator is no exception: if a
really large number of plants were to be built, the effects on the atmospheric wind circulation could be negative, causing
local climate changes, drought or similar bad effects. To avoid this, we could use the cheap electric power produced by the
Kite Generator to manufacture solar photovoltaic cells at low cost, which in turn could provide energy without affecting the
atmospheric wind circulation.
The Kite Generator must pass this reality test. It is an enormous challenge, but it offers also a huge promise. If the test is
passed, we face a true breakthrough in energy generation, something that could lead us to a new era, away from pollution,
climate change, and resource wars.
Click here for the Wind Map click here for catalogue
wind power plants are still plagued by the limited availability of windy sites and by the intermittency of the wind. In addition,
many people don't like to see giant turbines appearing on hills and ridges.
Ideally, we could solve the problems of intermittency and lack of sites if we could place the turbines higher up in the sky,
where the winds are stronger and more constant. But with the present technology, the supporting towers have already
reached their limits. Structures higher than the present ones (a hundred meters or so) would have to be too bulky and
expensive to be practical, to say nothing of the aesthetic problem.
A possible way to overcome the height problem would be to get rid of the tower altogether and use aerodynamic lift to
position the wind collecting unit high in the sky. In other words, to use kites. This idea has been already proposed in various
forms, but recently we hav e developed a simple and elegant concept that promises abundant energy at rock bottom costs:
the kite generator.
The advantage of using high flying kites is that it is possible to tap the energy of the strong - and relatively constant - winds
of these heights. Simulations can be used to estimate how much power a Kite Generator can provide and at what costs.
The results depend on size and we can see that a large scale Kite Generator could produce one to a few gigawatts of
power, the same as a nuclear plant, but at a much lower cost. Electrical power from a Kite Generator could cost, perhaps,
fifty times less than power produced by presently existing technologies.
These low costs, are derived from the essence of the concept: the Kite Generator is a simple machine, all its sophistication
is in the control software. If you own a game console you know that sophisticated software doesn't have to be expensive to
manufacture, once it has been designed. The Kite Generator is also safe: the kites are light sails which would do no
damage if they were to fall on the ground. It has a low visual impact. The footprint occupies a very small area: the area over
which kites fly can still be used for agriculture or as wilderness. Or, the Kite Generator can be built offshore, consuming no
land area at all.
One feature of the Kite Generator is that the kites occupy a relatively large 'bubble' of air space. This bubble would not
disturb airliners, which fly at much higher heights. It might interfere, however, with the flight of small planes and helicopters.
A way to keep this airspace as a no fly zone would need to be implemented, but this is not a major problem. The kites also
fly much higher than birds and the slowly moving cables don't present a threat larger than that of the already common
cables for power transmission and telephony.
There should be no need to remark how important the Kite Generator could be in the present situation, where the dwindling
supply of fossil fuels is causing all kinds of problems, from high prices of everything to resource wars. If Kite Generators
can perform as the simulations indicate, we could invert these trends and have energy that is clean, abundant and for free,
an energy that, moreover, can be produced almost anywhere. The old promise (never fulfilled) that nuclear plants could
give us electricity "too cheap to meter" could become a reality with the Kite Generators.
But, as always, we should avoid to be carried away by too much enthusiasm and keep a cool head. First, wind energy,
though abundant, is not infinite. No technology can provide us with infinite energy. The Kite Generator is no exception: if a
really large number of plants were to be built, the effects on the atmospheric wind circulation could be negative, causing
local climate changes, drought or similar bad effects. To avoid this, we could use the cheap electric power produced by the
Kite Generator to manufacture solar photovoltaic cells at low cost, which in turn could provide energy without affecting the
atmospheric wind circulation.
The Kite Generator must pass this reality test. It is an enormous challenge, but it offers also a huge promise. If the test is
passed, we face a true breakthrough in energy generation, something that could lead us to a new era, away from pollution,
climate change, and resource wars.
Click here for the Wind Map click here for catalogue
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