www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4544542/Kites-power-5-000-British-homes-2020.html

I first heard the idea of Kite Powered wind turbines in the Don Montague segment of the new kite movie Chapter One, but never seen it in action. There is a video in the middle of the page.

20 kites on 300 meter lines sure would generate a lot of power in WA's seabreezes! I wonder about the wear and tear on the kites though.

Christian

Not really understanding how a kite is making electricity

someone please explain for me

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Twenty of the enormous kites, which will work in pairs, will fly in 100mph (160km/h) circles at heights reaching more than 300 metres (1,000 ft) - around the same height as the Shard. Their cyclic movement will pull a tether attached to a rotating drum on the ground that is linked to a generator, which will spin to produce electricity.When the end of the tether is reached, the kite will move directly above the generator and is retracted so the process can begin again. The pairs of kites will take it turns to fly outwards from the generator and back, ensuring that power is constant.

Geez Billy Hampton has really taken his kiting to the next level.

This sort of stuff is so cool.

Thanks for posting, it's perfect to show my science class, they are just finishing a topic on global warming and we have been looking at a few different renewable methods, but haven't looked at kites yet.

Wish it was 50mins long though, that would be an entire lesson haha

Makani has been working on kite concept like this for years and now they are pushing rigid wing / kite solution ... Awesome concept and pretty cool website
Johnny Heineken, one of the fastest kiter has been part of the development.

makanipower.com/technology/

I love the idea buuuuuuuttt!!

What about the relaunch on these bad boys ??
what happens when the inevitable kitemare ensues?

imagine an out of control kite power station death looping towards your town

no no in all seriousness i am sure safety contingency plans are top of the list and I think most of us are fully in favour of new and inovative renewable energy schemes

also on the plus side if you lived in a country entirely powered by kite electricity windsurfers really wouldn't be able to say s#%t about kites

Select to expand quote

Youngbreezy said..
I love the idea buuuuuuuttt!!

What about the relaunch on these bad boys ??
what happens when the inevitable kitemare ensues?

imagine an out of control kite power station death looping towards your town

no no in all seriousness i am sure safety contingency plans are top of the list and I think most of us are fully in favour of new and inovative renewable energy schemes

also on the plus side if you lived in a country entirely powered by kite electricity windsurfers really wouldn't be able to say s#%t about kites

I think they mentioned in the video that the intent was to use these in offshore placements on anchored boats or rafts, where the depth or seabed weren't practical for conventional wind turbines to be permanently mounted, so nearby towns should be safe. I'm not sure on how they intend to relaunch the kites.

It's an interesting design. In many ways there are far less moving parts and complexities compared with manaki's approach.

I think the real plan with these things is to set them up just upwind of the old school wind turbines and have them boost right over the top of them!

Aaahhhh symbolism on a global geopolitical level

Finally a non-boring topic to discuss on Seabreeze.

Here is an idea that won't let me sleep

4 kites on 2 counter rotating bars (like a set of helicopters blades) both sets of kites deathlooping in ops set directions driving the bars around bars attached by a pipe and shaft to a right angle gearbox that drives a pulley and a 100m belt made from a loop of rope driving generator on ground. kites are controlled by joystick attached to slack end of belt. It's to hard to scetch the idea