SkySails actually started back in 2001 with a different purpose: building soft kite wings to pull ships along at sea. But, the report added, the technology has a long way to go before it could become an important part of the nation's energy solution. A 2021 US Department of Energy report to Congress concluded airborne windpower has a lot of potential, with such systems likely to be capable of harvesting the same order of magnitude of energy as ground-based wind systems in the US. But others pursuing lighter, simpler versions of the technology, like SkySails, are now going commercial. In 2020, for example, an airborne wind energy company acquired by Google folded operations due to issues with commercialisation of the technology. These ideas have been around for decades, but the path to using kites, wings or drones to capture wind energy has been bumpy. Advocates envision wind farms hosting hundreds of kites floating on barges in deep waters far offshore, while single wings – or smaller arrays – could unfurl to help power remote islands, temporary military installations or mining operations in the mountains. "The attraction is its simplicity in terms of materials and costs."īut kites aren't going to replace conventional wind power, adds Archer. Their height is adaptable, so they can be moved up or down to wherever the wind blows the hardest, which often changes with the seasons. They can also be tethered to an anchored barge in deep waters, where a traditional wind turbine cannot stand firm. These systems come in a container and can be dropped off wherever there's a road or dock. It's relatively cheap and easy to bring a kite wing to a remote location, adds Fagiano.
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