High-altitude wind mills – tapping into free wind energy.
Several startups are investigating approaches to tapping wind energy at high altitudes. “Altaeros Energies”, for example, is building wind turbines inside helium gas-filled industrial blimps that are tethered to the ground to generate electricity.
At 2,000 feet in the sky, the company says a turbine will generate twice as much energy as conventional turbines. Iowa State University engineers are working on taller wind towers made from strengthened concrete that would stand at least 330 feet in the air, about 130 feet taller than today’s towers. Read more HERE. (Donnelle Eller, The Des Moines Register)
Altaeros Energies is announcing the first planned commercial demonstration of its BAT (Buoyant Airborne Turbine) product in partnership with the Alaska Energy Authority. The Alaska project will deploy the BAT at a height of 1,000 feet above ground, a height that will break the world record for the highest wind turbine in the world. Altaeros has designed the BAT to generate consistent, low cost energy for the remote power and microgrid market, including remote and island communities; oil & gas, mining, agriculture, and telecommunication firms; disaster relief organizations; and military bases. The BAT uses a helium-filled, inflatable shell to lift to high altitudes where winds are stronger and more consistent than those reached by traditional tower-mounted turbines. High strength tethers hold the BAT steady and send electricity down to the ground. The lifting technology is adapted from aerostats, industrial cousins of blimps, which have lifted heavy communications equipment into the air for decades. To learn more, visit www.altaerosenergies.com.
Wind energy combined with a quick mobile application to deploy anywhere in the world, this technology has obvious military applications. Rapid deployment forces have energy needs that currently rely on host nation’s infrastructure and costly fossil fuels that must constantly be resupplied. We deem this technology worthy of pursuing…
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