High-level energy

An international engineering team is building a prototype airborne wind turbine that could be moored at high altitude to provide a constant source of renewable energy without impacting on local landscapes.

Australian Bryan Roberts, a professor of engineering at the University of Technology in Sydney, said clusters of flying electricity generators (FEGs) could stay aloft for months powered by their own electricity while feeding power to the ground through a cable.

Researchers are increasingly interested in devices to generate energy at high altitudes, where winds are persistent and strong. A Dutch team at Delft Technical University recently unveiled a concept to generate electricity using a chain of controllable kites, with each ‘Laddermill’ capable of generating 100MW. But the researchers are four years away from building a working model.

Roberts has teamed up with San Diego company Sky WindPower to build a 200kW demonstrator craft with four rotors arranged in a square at altitude.