High-Flying Kites Could Produce Enough Energy for a City

Kites aren’t just toys anymore – they could be a new form of renewable wind energy that has the potential to power not just one house, not just a city block, but an entire city. Delft University of Technology scientists have developed a way to harness energy from kites, tethering a 10 square meter kite to a generator. They were able to produce 10 kilowatts of power – enough to power 10 homes. They plan to scale the experiment with a 50 kilowatt kite and a 100 megawatt version to be called the Laddermill, which could potentially power 100,000 homes.

From Inhabitat:

The promise of kite power lies in its inexpensive materials and its potential to harness enormous amounts of power, since high altitude winds can carry hundreds of times more energy than those on the ground. Airborne kites produce power by pulling on a ground-bound generator, which reels the kites back once they reach their maximum height. Also, unlike a field-full of wind turbines, kite power requires a minimal amount of land use.

Check out video of the test flight below. It’s amazing how many brilliant solutions are possible when researchers have the drive and the funding. Wind and solar power have so much potential beyond PV panels and turbines, and we’re just beginning to see what might provide clean, renewable power in the future.

Link [Inhabitat]

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