>From Terry: > http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2822/kites-could-power-world-100-times-over > > excerpt: > > "Archer and Caldeira looked at both wind speed and air density at > different altitudes, concluding that extraordinary amounts of energy > exist above Japan, eastern China, the eastern coast of the U.S., > southern Australia and north-eastern Africa. > > Kite-driven generators > > Average wind power densities in these locales "are greater than 10 > kilowatts per square metre. This is unthinkable near the ground, where > even the best locations have usually less than one kilowatt per square > metre," said Archer. New York clocked up a whopping wind power density > of 16 kilowatts per square metre, the study found." > > <more>
I wish there was more information on how they expect to maintain these contraptions day in and day out. Personally, I think it's an intriguing idea, certainly worth researching because of the huge amount wind energy available at high altitude. Of course it's not surprising that many express legitimate concerns that creating high altitude wind farms could be potentially dangerous, such as the concern that the cables could get tangled up with each other. But such dangers may be imaginary. It's my understanding that high altitude wind tend to blow predictably in a particular direction. This would suggest it is highly unlikely that multiple cables extending up into the sky to numerous kites would interfere with each others operations. Obviously, a certain amount of spacing would be necessary to ensure adequate safety standards. I would also think a good size 100 – 300 megawatt wind farm would consume a large 3D volume of real estate. I think someone also expressed the concern that having wind kites in the sky is just asking for trouble because they could potentially interfere with private and commercial air traffic. I'm not sure I buy this concern. With adequate lighting and flashing beacons, similar to what are placed on broadcasting towers, I suspect wind farms might not be any more of a danger. I now expect to hear from the "This is a bad idea!" camp! ;-) Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
