Monday, November 18, 2013

Is this the next step in wind power?

Over a year ago I told you about a wind power generating technique that uses a flying wing to swing around at the end of a tether.  The idea is that you can create a mobile power generation system with a much smaller amount of material than a traditional wind turbine.  The kites or wings can also fly up higher where the winds are more consistent.  Well, it appears that the folks at Makani Power have now made the entire system autonomous.  The company was acquired by Google in May and they are now moving ahead at full speed to create autonomous offshore power generation systems that don't become huge permanent eye-sores for everyone nearby.  If it actually works, it is pretty clever.  Watch the video to see it in action.