Alternative Energy Supplies - Wind Power: Harvesting Wind Energy With Airborne Wind Turbines

At just 610 metres above the ground, wind velocity is two to three times compared to ground level wind speeds. A NASA project is looking into how to harvest this resource with airborne wind turbines.

NASA aerospace engineer Mark Moore is part of the first federally-funded research effort to examine airborne wind harvesting platforms. While Moore says the concept isn't a clean energy panacea, it deserves consideration in a renewable energy mix. But why stop at 610 metres - further up even more potential energy is available. At 9 kilometres above the surface is the jet stream that generates wind speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour.

"Instead of 500 watts per meter (for ground-based wind turbines), you're talking about 20,000, 40,000 watts per square meter," says Moore. "Offshore deployment of these airborne systems probably makes the most sense in terms of both airspace and land use, because there is little to no demand for low altitude flight over oceans 12 miles (19 to 20 km) offshore."

Note EU-Digest: "With a $100,000 grant from the federal government, Mark Moore, an aerospace engineer at the Systems Analysis Branch of NASA's Langley Research Center, is going to study different approaches to harvesting energy from the wind at high altitudes. Not 100 or 200 feet, but 10,000 or 30,000 feet. Moore plans to look at all of the different airborne wind turbine ideas that have been proposed and find a way to compare their strengths and weaknesses."


For more: Harvesting Wind Energy With Airborne Wind Turbines : Renewable Energy News :