Do flying wind generators power the planet?
Much has been said about the power of our wind turbines in recent years. Initially intended as the answer to the global energy crisis, we soon realized how many turbines and how much space it would actually take to power the world.
People are already worried about wind turbines ruining scenic landscapes, and environmentalists are worried about birds getting caught in the blades. But what if there was a solution? An idea so revolutionary that it is difficult to imagine…
It seems there is. Time magazine even named it one of the best inventions of 2008. It’s called the “Flying Electric Generator.”
So what is it?
The FEG is a type of “rotorplane” that floats above the ground and generates power from strong winds at high altitude. But the amazing thing about this is that it is lifted by the wind. To prevent it from flying away, it is tethered to the ground, from where the electrical current is sent back to earth.
As the FEG rises, it hits stronger winds, allowing it to produce more power. In fact, it has been said that these high-altitude winds or jet streams are so strong that using just 1% of them could power the entire planet.
And when will it be operational?
Until now, the only demonstration of a working FEG was in Australia, where they used electricity to get it off the ground. The experiment was very successful, showing that even in light winds close to the ground, the FEG floated there just fine.
Next, they plan to test a larger 240 kW tethered helicopter at up to 15,000 feet. And then they will expand further to FEGs with four rotors, capable of producing ten to forty megawatts of power, which is much more than the highest current capacity of five megawatt wind turbines.
There have been questions about how high-altitude lightning or turbulence might affect the FEG. For lightning, there is a warning system where the FEG just goes down to ground. Turbulence is not a problem as the rotorcraft acts like a kite, and will just go back to the way it was after a big gust of wind. And a combination of GPS and gyroscope will be used to control your pitch and roll.
So how much energy production is possible?
According to San Diego-based Sky WindPower Corporation, a 600-FEG array rated at 20 MW, and operating in a 200-square-mile land space, could produce more than three times as many megawatt hours per year than the 28,572,902 MWh produced by the Palos Verde Nuclear Plant Arizona in 2003.
And just 43 of these FEG arrays running at 85% capacity could produce up to 3,883,185,000 MWh of energy – that’s the total US energy consumption in 2003.
And how much will this power cost us?
According to a detailed study by Sky WindPower Corp, in the long term, the cost of a FEG of ten megawatts of capacity would be less than 2 cents per kilowatt hour (including land use costs). This is less than the energy costs of fossil fuels. But obviously site selection and proximity to existing power lines are very important factors.
Whats Next?
Since the FEGs are still in the testing phase, we’re not quite sure how long it will be before we see them floating off in the distance. But one thing is for sure is that if everything goes according to plan, we can see in the air wind generator power the planet.