Goodbye, solar panels. The future of kites: they will fly all over the world

Wind turbines and solar panels have a strong competitor — it was the unusual SkySails Power kite wind turbine.

SkySails Power clean energy generators, nicknamed kites, can reach heights that traditional turbines cannot. How and where they will be applied was reported by eldiario24.com.

The SkySails Power wind turbine installed in Clixbulle (Germany) is equipped with a “kite” of 120 square meters. Driven by high-altitude winds, the system powers a generator that produces clean, green electricity.

The idea of ​​using high-altitude winds is simple: the wind is more constant at an altitude of up to 800 meters. This means that such kites can provide baseload wind power and thus make a significant contribution to the energy transition and fossil fuel substitution. In addition, flying windmills have an advantage: they do not make any noise, do not harm birds, unlike their blade counterparts, they can be installed where energy is needed, even in hard-to-reach areas without electricity.

Such wind turbines consist of a ground station with a winch and a built-in generator. To generate energy, the automatically controlled “snake” pulls the cable behind the winch. Traction force is transmitted to a generator that produces electricity. As soon as the line reaches maximum tension, the autopilot brings the kite into neutral. The generator then acts as a motor and pulls the cable using only a fraction of the energy produced.

The Wind Power Kite ascends in figure eights thanks to its automatic control. It unwinds the cable from the ground winch as it climbs. The generator that produces the energy inside the winch is driven by the traction force. We call this the “working phase”. The autopilot steers the kite into a neutral position with little lift and pulls when the line is extended to its maximum length, according to SkySails Power.

Air kites have the potential to impact the global market and community because they appear to be safer and more useful than traditional wind turbines, media reports. Such airborne wind energy systems produce energy that can be used directly, stored in batteries or sent to the grid. They are easy to maintain and are no less effective than solar panels and bladed wind power plants.