High-altitude wind turbines are devices that use wind energy from the earth at an altitude of approximately 1,600 to 40,000 feet above the ground to produce electricity. They are environmentally friendly and non-polluting. American scientists are trying to use this technology to power entire cities. But in theory, that's exactly what wind turbines installed thousands of feet above cities could do. As it is still in design, many difficulties still need to be overcome before it can be put into service.
Difficulties faced by high altitude wind turbines
The basic idea of high altitude wind power generation is to use the wind high altitudes to generate electricity, rather than traditional wind turbines. It is erected on a pylon on the ground or at sea and relies on the rotation of the blades to produce electricity. The mMethods that have been explored for high altitude wind power generation include: flying through the air and generating electricity on the ground. A light aircraft that does not produce electricity itself is attached to the reins and flies at high altitude like a kite. drags the reins to turn mechanical devices on the ground, thereby generating electricity. When flying through the air, aerial power generation places a light wind turbine on a light aircraft and flies it at high altitude, generating electricity during flight, then transmits the electrical energy to the ground via a rein with a metal core. As altitude increases, average wind speed increases and wind energy reserves increase almost cubically. Wind energy reserves at high altitudes are richer and more stable. The amount of wind energy contained at high altitudes is unmatched by current heights near the ground. Energy productionhigh-altitude wind turbine has not yet formed a unified design model. wind power generation in terms of height, equipment size, power, etc. High altitude wind power is compared to the current ground tower wind power which can only use wind power within 300 meters above the ground, generally referring to mid-range wind power and high altitude above 300 meters above the ground. High-altitude wind power is a new energy source that has hardly been developed and used by humans until now. It is a renewable and clean energy source with abundant reserves and wide distribution. A research report by environmental and climate scientists at Stanford University highlights that wind energy contained at high altitudes exceeds the total energy demand of human society by more than 100 times. Fridaysts high altitudes are characterized by high wind speed, wide distribution, high stability and constant flow all year round. High-altitude winds are constant and stable all year round. A few kilometers above the ground, the higher the ground, the stronger the wind and the more stable it is. Therefore, collecting wind power at high altitude can produce wind power with high stability and low power generation cost. This is one of the distinctive characteristics of high-altitude wind power and one of the most significant advantages of high-altitude wind power over conventional wind power. wind power.
George Douglas, spokesman for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said: “We are now largely focused on projects that can be brought to market quickly. For example, projects that can be brought to marketdue in about 10 years. » Startups such as KiteGen, Sky Windpower, Magenn and Makani began dabbling in high-altitude wind power development a few years ago, and they now appear on track to achieve their goals sooner than later. foreseen. “We're not as far from working prototypes as we thought,” Christina said, emphasizing, however, that these companies are all remaining tight-lipped about their experimental data.
MagEnn's chief financial officer, Barry Monette, said the company would sell "two to four" working prototypes next year and that the "first revenue" would be paid into the company's account. The Magenn machine can operate at a lower height. “We believe we will be first to market, unless something unexpected happens,” Monitor said. In the long term, powering an entire city with such machines will remain difficult.ficile, largely because, although the position at high altitude is optimal. , there will still be 5% of the time in a year when there will be no wind. "In other words, you either have backup energy, a large amount of energy reserves, or you have an entire continent, or even a global network, to guarantee the availability of energy. "wind energy," said Ken Caldera, an ecologist at Stanford University who co-authored Christina's paper. So while high-altitude wind power may eventually prove to be an important energy source, it will require sophisticated infrastructure. "