News Section | Physics
Flying wind turbines can provide 100 times more power than globally used
Scientists have estimated that wind turbines that fly, swoop and float have the ability to provide 100 times more the amount needed to power the whole world annually.
Flying, swooping and floating turbines are being developed to turn high-altitude winds into electricity.
Cristina Archer, an atmospheric scientist at the California State University in Chico, said there’s “not a doubt anymore” that high-altitude winds will be tapped for power.
Fort Felker at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said the industry is 10 years away from making a meaningful contribution to the nation’s electricity demands.
High-altitude wind power is similar to ground wind in the 1970s – facing questions but soon to prove its viability, said PJ Shepard of Oroville, Calif.-based Sky WindPower, which is developing a “flying electric generator”.
The lure of high-altitude wind is simple: Wind speed generally increases with its height above the ground as surface friction diminishes. Each time wind speed doubles, the amount of energy it theoretically holds multiplies by eight times.
The world’s most powerful winds circulate in the jet streams, which are found four to 10 miles off the ground and carry winds that regularly break 100 miles per hour.
The dream is to eventually tap the jet streams, but high-altitude wind companies are focusing for now below a 2,000-foot ceiling, above which complex federal air-space restrictions kick in.
Adam Rein, co-founder of the Boston company Altaeros Energies, said his company calculates winds at the 2,000 foot level are up to 20 times stronger than winds that can be reached by a typical 350-foot land turbine.
“They are projecting crazy numbers. I’m not saying that it’s true. But it’s really the lowest, the cheapest energy source, possibly,” the Daily Mail quoted Archer as saying.
Felker, director of NREL’s National Wind Technology Center, said each turbine concept awaits extensive testing on its reliability, durability and effectiveness.
He added that keeping the turbines operating autonomously over long periods in changing weather may be the biggest obstacle.
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