Kite Power Flexible Wind Energy

The potential for wind turbine power is both exciting and encouraging

, as the public begin to give their support to renewable energies. The branding of these turbines has been changed so that people no longer associate them with infringements upon the scenery, but rather as ornaments of cleanliness and a world changing for the better. One of the biggest problems that the implementation of wind farms still face is the footprint that they require. Large scale wind farms need to be built in open countryside or out to sea, to tap the uninterrupted air currents. Built too closely to large metropolitan areas or in valleys, they dont have the ability to fully exploit the power of long-travelling gales. This exception also prevents them from being built in compact reservations; they have to be spaced out in intervals leaving enough uninterrupted air flow to achieve efficiency. Well the world isnt getting any bigger, so how do we solve this problem?

Kite Power is an idea that came about when first beginning to address this problem, though the technology didnt exist until relatively recently. There are various companies coming into existence now with varying forms of harnessing the power of high altitude wind, but they share the same concept. A flexible membrane is launched into the air and reeled out by flexible high tensile connections to tap into the higher wind currents. The connections, imagine them as the strings of a kite, drive a ground based turbine. The turbine is spun by the power of the wind transferred through the kite and generates kinetic power which can be stored as electricity.

The connecting lines can also determine the flight path of the kite itself, allowing it to repeat a predefined route to tap into the strongest currents and continue to deliver a constant source of power. Computerised programs can be linked to meteorological charts and measuring systems to anticipate upcoming changes in currents, whilst intelligent technology can re-plot the kites flight path to fully exploit these changing winds.

Wind turbines are limited to around 200 metres because of the weight of materials and the strength of air currents at higher altitudes. Whilst this strength poses an engineering problem for wind turbines, it also represents a significant amount on untapped energy that wind farms miss out on. Not only are the currents much stronger, but they are far more consistent; overcoming the problem of dropping wind levels when powering large cities.

The most efficient section on the modern wind turbine is the tip of the wing, which rotates at the highest speed. With kite power, the entire kite can permanently function at these speeds and thus be incredibly efficient in comparison to turbines. Whilst the technology sounds very complex and unfounded, the entire process is much simpler and cheaper than the wind power currently being used.

Kite farms are also a real possibility as individual membranes wont have significantly interrupt the currents, allowing other kites to fly in relatively close flight paths. With an already reduced footprint, this further drives down that downfall and opens up the possibility for large scale implementations being able to power entire cities.

The innovators behind this technology are also looking at engineering flexible photovoltaic panels into the kite membranes, combining both wind and solar power to abolish the use of fossil fuels once and for all.

by: James Pilkington

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