The other day I had the honor and pleasure to chat with an old colleague of mine about Airborne Wind Energy. She says she now works for some socialist magazine. She has put our chat on the intertubes on some kind of pod radio. (It is behind a paywall at the moment – but will become free in the future).
Anyways – if you listened to the conversation and you are a more visually oriented person here are some videos of the Airborne Wind Energy Systems I tried to explain:
Traction kite pulling on a tether driving a winch:
Kitepower youtu.be/eBqMimiafSY?t=56
Same concept – but the kite is now rigid:
TwingTec youtube.com/watch?v=2-uhsga4aTo
Turbines generate the electric power on the kite and send it to the ground via a long cable:
Makani youtu.be/F6NW0QeKLZA?t=29
And finally a “flying windmill” – a rotor driving a generator on the ground through a really long and light drive shaft:
someAWE youtube.com/watch?v=p8Hfj7L7d_w&t=134s
The brilliant people at awesco have created this excellent and more scientifically accurate introduction into the world of Airborne Wind Energy:
And last but not least: If you are convinced now that Flying Windmills will save the world and want to make your own – start here.
Enjoy!