Aerostat Variety
An aerostat-type wind power system relies at least in part on buoyancy to support the wind-collecting elements. Aerostats vary in their designs and resulting lift-over-drag aerodynamic characteristic; the kiting effect of higher lift-over-drag shapes for the aerostat can effectively keep an airborne turbine aloft; a variety of such kiting balloons were made famous in the kytoon by Domina C. Jalbert.
Balloons can be added to the mix to keep systems up without wind, but balloons leak slowly and have to be resupplied with lifting gas, possibly patched as well. Very large, sun heated balloons may solve the helium or hydrogen leakage problems.
An Ontario based company called Magenn is developing a turbine called the Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS). A future 1,000-foot (300 m)-wide MARS system would use a horizontal rotor in a helium suspended apparatus which is tethered to a transformer on the ground. Magenn claims that their technology provides high torque, low starting speeds, and superior overall efficiency thanks to its ability to deploy higher in comparison to non-aerial solutions. The first prototypes were built by TCOM in April 2008. No production units have been delivered.
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| Altaeros Prototype 2012 | |
Boston-based Altaeros Energies uses a helium-filled balloon shroud to lift a wind turbine into the air, transferring the resultant power down to a base station through the same cables used to control the shroud. A 35-foot prototype using a standard Skystream 2.5kW 3.7m wind turbine was flown and tested in 2012.
The Twind Technology concept uses a pair of captive balloons at an altitude of 800 meters. The tether cables transmit force to a rotating platform on the ground. Each balloon has a sail connected to it. The two balloons move alternately, the balloon with the sail open moves downwind and draws the other balloon upwind, and then the motion reverses. The tether cable can be used to turn the shaft of a generator to produce electrical energy or perform other works (grinding, sawing, pumping).
Read more about this topic: Airborne Wind Turbine
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