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Week 5 [13-19.11.17] Kite Power

Our world is built on electricity. The computer you’re reading this post on, the pumps that deliver water to your home, the early tsunami detection systems on the pacific ocean. All these things run on electric power. Power, for which the demand is ever-growing, with each new-born person, and each new-bought appliance. Thankfully over the years we’ve been getting better and better at generating said power. Today a new kind of power generation system promises to give us even more for even less input. A system based on kites.

Renewable energy is certainly a great thing. It’s clean, non-reliant on fossil fuels and virtually inexhaustible. Unfortunately, despite all of its advantages, it still struggles with several key problems preventing it from becoming our sole method of power generation. The main one is its localization. What would be the best place to place all of our solar energy plants? In the middle of a desert, obviously. Unfortunately that’s just not feasible, since the further you make the power travel, the more you loose on the way. Alternatively you could store energy in batteries and transport it this way, but that comes with its own bunch of problems.

Ideally we’d want our power generation to be located close to the consumers, but the closer we get to a city, the more we run into other issues. Solar power generation requires a lot of space, and the plot prices on the outskirts of a city are much higher than in the desert. Wind generation takes less space, but generates a lot of noise. Nuclear power isn’t really that clean, with all the nuclear waste it generates. And let’s not forget about all those dangerous microwaves that make us get cancer, and all manner of other diseases. Thankfully, there’s a new way of power generation that promises to solve all of these problems.

This new system consists quite simply from two large kites, about 20 meters wide, each controlled by a small robot and tethered to a spool on one side of a generator. The robots control the kites making them alternate between two modes. One kite is set to catch the maximum amount of wind making its tether unwind with speeds up to 160 km/h. This in turn allows the generator to use the spool’s rotation, to generate power. At the same time, some of the generated power is used to wind up the tether of the second kite. Normally pulling it down would require a lot of energy, but here, the robot controlling the second kite positions it along the wind current, allowing it to glide down on its own.

This new kind of wind based power generation solves most problem typical for the old methods. It’s more efficient, operating on high altitudes, where the winds are much faster. It’s safer, cheaper and less noisy, as the majority of work is done by the easily replaceable tether. It’s extremely mobile, with the hole system fitting on the back of the truck. It can be deployed virtually anywhere in a matter of hours, allowing it to be used in places struck by natural disasters. It can operate in places where the old systems cannot, greatly increasing the area that can be used for power generation. Thanks to all of its advantages we might one day see it become the dominant way of supplying our bellowed electricity.

1. Do you think this technology could become popular in the future?
2. What other green solutions have you recently heard about?
3. What is your opinion on the topic of global warming?

Source:

Comments

Unknown said…
This technology sounds great, it has lot of advantages but I think about one fact that may be huge disadvantage. The cost of whole enterprise. Nevertheless I like this idea and it appeals to me, it would be great to see this solution in future.
Other ‘green’ solution that I’ve recently heard about may be the idea of smartphone application that encourages people to put up litters on streets.
Generally I do not read about things like global warming and I’m not into it but I try to be aware of it and often do my best to keep our planet clean and health.
That sounds like rly great idea , but the think is that population of earth growth like incredibly fast and it's much more likely that the future of "electricity" will be on nuclear fusion. Nuclear power already bringing us a huge amount of energy at pretty short-term. ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is often presented as the long-term solution to the problem of global warming, because nuclear fusion can provide an infinite and clean source of energy.
Unknown said…
I think that using kites as alternative source of energy is good idea but I think that thare are a lot of disadvantages. The first problem is that kite flies very high and we have to use good light for planes. The next is that kite moves all the time and it is dangerous for planes and drones. The last: control system is more complitated than in wind turbine. I'm wondering how they can control a kite with only one line as you can see one the film. I went kitesurfing in the past and I know that it's impossible to control it with only one line.
I think that global warming is fake news or it isn't as dangerous as they say in media. Today we have acces to a lot of informtion and every natural disaster is shown as more serious than in reality.
The film mentions a miniature robot located at the point where all the lines cross. It can steer the kite by pulling the lines, like you do while parachuting. This allows the parachute to fly down to decrease the energy required to wind up the line.
As soon as they perfect the nuclear fusion, sure. For now, it's extremely dirty. When you decommission a nuclear plant you have to take all the material that had contact with the fuel and store it somewhere. You can't shoot it into space, image if a rocket would blow up. It would spread all that radioactive dust in the atmosphere. We used to store it in old mines, until they started leaking. It happened in Germany just a year ago. All the countries that decided to stop using the nuclear energy are still spending absorbent amounts on dealing with the nuclear waste, which is not going anywhere in the near future.
*rocket blew up
*through the atmosphere

Unknown said…
Actually, I reckon this technology would not become widespread, because, for example, nuclear energy is still cheap and it will be used in the newly industrialized country like China or India. Moreover,these countries will not reject producing nuclear energy, because they economically chase the USA, the UK, Germany etc and they're not ready to launch it because of their technological backwardness. So, I may conclude that only developed countries maybe implement this source of producing of energy like Norway, Canada, Germany..btw, Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement
A lot of new ideas emerge every day but I am not really into it.
I think the problem is really close and humanity must do all possible to solve it as fast as it possible becase it's gonna be extinction of homo sapiens
Foodocado said…
I agree with Krzysztof. I also heard that more and more countries are trying to replace the nuclear energy with renewable sources such as wind or sun. Beside that, the cost of building nuclear power plant is extremely high.

It's sad that our current goverment doesn't support the idea of renewable energy. They assume that coal extraction is still profitable, but truth is slightly different. It's cheaper to import coal from Canada than extract it in one of our mine.
Unknown said…
Do I think this technology could become popular in the future? Yea, why not? After all we kinda need alternative ways of gathering energy. I think it will follow the Sunlight Panels energy way. It might be usefull, because global warming is a thing and wekinda HAVE to do something about it and fast.
Surely it could become usable in the future, if there is one for human race. There are many so-called green solutions lurking around the corner, from spherical sun power generators to algae production, but they all have one thing in common, that is they can't nor will allow us to sustain the level of life that we know. The only reason we were able to achieve it are fossil fuels. Almost every given "green energy" technology requires parts that are made of these hydrocarbon deposits, which are finite and we already extracted more than there is left. While some of the technologies could be converted to use cleaner energy, there are many that are simply not able to run on pure electricity. Main engines of modern civilisation like agricultural, mining or construction trucks would require to use over half its payload capacity for batteries needed to run them. Typical lead batteries simply cannot store enough electricity to power them, while lithium ones are prone to fire and leaking. Don't forget that they are also made out of finite resources.

When it comes to global warming, which I prefer to call human induced climate change then I don't see a possibility to stop it without destroying current civilisation. We are animals and there is a simple law of nature that states that every species that overshoot its carrying capacities, which we already did, will be brought down to more reasonable numbers. There is a simple solution, which might still not be enough given how we already destroyed almost everything around us, that is to reduce the standard of living. We would need 4 earths every year to sustain people, if we all lived like an average American. It simply won't happen. Imagine no flights, only locally produced food, limits on energy use and cold showers every second day. Some would embrace it, but the majority will move on to further foul our only home. Nothing feels better than to shit in your own nest.
Unknown said…
It looks interesting, but as many of these green solutions, it has a huge chances to be forgotten. A lot of people simply don't care about the future. It is a problem of the whole mankind: we are stuck int the today and we aren't thinking about tomorrow. Besides, solar energy gathering looks way more real to become a main source of energy, and I believe, that more of the research in energy industry will be concentrated more exactly on solar energy rather than other kinds of fossil-fuel-free approaches.

It is hard to say, whether global worming is a natural part of the climatic circle of the Earth (like ice ages) or it is mainly a result of anthropogenic activity. Whatever it was, it influences our lifes, and can lead to extinction of the whole species of animals, so it should be studied and somehow be brought under the control.
I'm sure that if all our non-renewable energy sources will end up, this could be an amazing alternative for other renewable energy sources. But for now, i'm not 100% sure. I think that the most popular green solution at the moment are solars system. I have mixed feelings about global warming, there are senteces for and against the truth of this topic. I know that for sure we need to take care of our planet and reduce the production of pollutants. And i stick with it.
This is undoubtedly the most interesting presentation this week. The whole concept of kite power sounds really awesome, and I really hope that it will become really popular in the future. This has all advantages of traditional wind turbine without it’s disadvantages like killing birds and being really noisy. Also because of height they can work constantly. Wow I’m really amazed.
Unknown said…
I never heard of this way of producing power. It is an interesting technology and I actually might believe it will work (thanks to the evolution of technology). I really hope for the best :)

When it comes to different solutions, I'm a big fan of getting power from water turbines. In the Nordic countries over 3/4 of electricity is generated in water turbines placed on rivers and seems to be one of the best and most reliable ways to produce electricity. Other than that of course solar power, of course depending on the region.

When it comes to global warming, I couldn't agree more with Aleksander Bartos's comment :)
Unknown said…
Do you think this technology could become popular in the future?
I think this could become more popular in the future than it is now. However in description there is nothing about disadvantages. I used to kite-surf on holiday, and it is not as simple as in presented on this article. First of all there is nothing about weather, in movie there are only sunny scenes. From my experience I know that there is impossible to kite-surf when its raining, because kite could go to ground. There are also phenomenons for example known as air holes when there is no wind for a few seconds even in windy days and kite immediately fall down. And then what? If there are solutions to those kind of cases then It could be more popular, otherwise only a little bit, for example for emergency cases.
What other green solutions have you recently heard about?
One of my favorite solution is that presented by Tesla, specifically roof tiles with solar panels in it.
What is your opinion on the topic of global warming?
Global warming there is a fact and we need to fight against them, by be more eco and chose solutions more friendly for environment.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
Awesome idea! Its great, ofcourse we can find disadvantages but cmon! Please show me one thing without disadvantages. I think that everyone heard about solar system. You can install heat pump or solar collector in your house to pay less for hot water or apartment heating. When it comes to topic about global warming all I can say is: Take care of your planet please.
Unknown said…
It won't become popular, as its just "yet another cool green design, but only on paper". Why? Let me answer this question with a question - do you know ANYTHING, that after being remade to a green/eco- version, was more reliable, less expensive or, simply better?
Eco cars? DPFs, start-stops and overloaded .x-litre, 3-cylinder engines that will break before they hit 250kkm.
Eco electronics? ROHS causing cold-soldered chips and other parts that break easily, CCFL lights that contain deadly mercury.
Even solar plants in our region are made to generate DONATIONS, not power(http://www.radiokrakow.pl/wiadomosci/tarnow/wierzchoslawice-sprzedadza-farme-fotowoltaniczna/).
Even if you build one yourself, you will have to choose - sell your energy for almost nothing and buy it from power company for normal price, or don't connect to the public grid at all.
Compare it to the famous "anti-smog" problem, for example in Cracow- Mounting special filters and fines for burning trash can scare away some people, but those laws still mean nothing to the poor ones- for them it's either "burn tires and trash" or "freeze to death".
The same is with ecology - you can try to build huge solar power plant for your own money, but if you try to compete with companies which make cheaper power from coal, you'll fail and that's the thing that most people care about- the price of the energy. If they will pay less, they won't complain about it, even if it's made from trash.
As long as "ECO-" equals "overpriced, less reliable crap", nothing will change, and those projects will never make it to production line. Where would all those projects be, if it weren't for the donations?
As for global warming- yes, it surely is there somewhere, if someone wants to fight it for good, he or she can stop using electronics. That's too hard? Oh well, every time you click your mouse, you support melting of glaciers...
What's my point - "Being green and eco-friendly" has become business in itself, and while there really is a climate change induced by humans, its not as dramatic as "green" organizations want us to think it is.
Marcin Górski said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marcin Górski said…
I’ve never heard about kite power systems. I think that this technology should be more popular. We should get energy from natural resources and kite power is a good solution. There is more advantages for that. Our world based on electricity and that is very worrying.
I have solar panels on my family house. Installation is expensive but that project will have paid for itself by a few years and that’s why we made it.
I read about global warming and it is dreadful for me. We should make everything for our Earth. It is our home!
Magdalena Popek said…
I've heard lots of doubts concerning wind turbines, so I believe this technology may be the future of wind energy. Population is still growing so relying on coal is becoming even worse idea than ever. Recently I have not heard about any green solution but I'm learning about the Zero Waste and vegan movements as a way to minimise humans' negative impact on Earth. I strongly recommand reading about both of them.
I've heard global warming is something that happens on a regular basis. I'm not sure if it's our fault or not, but regardless of that we should definitely think about our negative impact on the planet.
This is move versatile than solar. With the winds blowing faster at higher altitudes it could potentially produce energy non-stop. Plus is would be a great solution for smaller self-sustained communities due to much lower space and initial investment requirements.
I'd say the problem boils down to storing the energy to be available 24/7. That's why we invest so much in developing new kinds of batteries.

As for the things that couldn't run without fossil fuels, just this week tesla showed off their new fully electric semi-truck.

We don't create eco-friendly versions of what we have because they are move robust or more efficient. We do it, because we cannot afford not to.

Obviously not everyone can afford can afford to build their own solar plant, but the future is in small communities generating electricity locally. Even the big energy companies are starting to adjust to that idea, as shown in this video by the Economist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ38SiVOD78
"The film mentions a miniature robot located at the point where all the lines cross. It can steer the kite by pulling the lines, like you do while parachuting. This allows the parachute to fly down to decrease the energy required to wind up the line."
Obviously it won't run during a hurricane, but nor will a sun-power facility. Overall I think it's much less weather-dependant.
1. Do you think this technology could become popular in the future?
Time will verify everything from the scratch. For me it is very important to find new sources of green energy that does not affect our life so much. For me it would be a great to find a cheap and effective way to store a large amount of energy in a very big capacity but small storage. That would make Sahara a place to produce a lot of energy and we could only transport it to a places where it is needed the most.
2. What other green solutions have you recently heard about?
3 choices - wind, sun, water. But my friend is currently working in a company that makes energy out of compost.
3. What is your opinion on the topic of global warming?
For me the pollution in general is more important subject. Global warming is just an effect of it.
Patryk Pohnke said…
I think it can become popular as it easier to build and place. It is also cheaper.
Mostly wind farms, placed on ground and on coasts.
I think that we should decrease pollution we create as much as we can. We all benefit from that all over the world. Everyone wants to take a breath of a clean air.
Unknown said…
This technology seeems.. interesting. Cheap, lightweight, mobile, efficient. But there are so many such "revolutionary" technologies that I stay sceptical. Too many times I've gone through "wow, this totally makes sense and will revolutionize how we do this or that thing" and then I've never heard about it again. We are in need of green solutions, the transition though doesn't seem like really advanced or even encouraged by certain groups of interest. Don't know what to think about global warming, there just too much misinformation/disinformation.

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