MEET THE MAKANI ENERGY KITE

Back in 2013 Google purchased a company called Makani, creators of the Energy Kite. Their goal is to make wind energy pricing competitive with fossil fuels, and they believe a new approach is needed. The Energy Kite is a new type of wind turbine, designed to generate more energy using 90% less materials. “Makani’s energy kite uses the same aerodynamic principles as a conventional wind turbine, but replaces tons of steel with lightweight electronics, advanced materials, and smart software.”

How does it work?

The kite is launched from a ground station using the rotors as helicopter blades until it reaches 800ft above ground. Once airborne, the system generates power by flying in large circles up high where the wind is stronger and more consistent. Rotors mounted on the kite wings drive generators that produce electricity. A strong conductive tether acts like the string of a kite and also carries energy back to the grid. The kite’s flight path is guided by a flight computer, which uses GPS and sensors to make thousands of calculations and adjustments in strong and steady winds.

Advantages over conventional wind turbines

• Generates 50% more power from 90% less materials.
• Able to reach stronger, more consistent winds.
• Can be used in areas not suitable for conventional turbines.
• Safer and easier to maintain on the ground; no need for cranes or helicopters.

What do you think?

• Sam
  Fantastic! Good to see corporations doing positive things, they have the money and power, if they want to be for the people this is the way!
• Dipak Jairath
  great idea – in fact it’s the concept that’s so good and one wishes the team good luck for this.
• Dr_StrangeKill
  Saw this coming from a mile away. Back in 2011, I attempted to patent a similar machine. My concept was a blimp rather than a kite, which could potentially minimize the power input required to get the machine at an appropriate altitude. By using leak-proof materials: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2008/09/cu-physicists-create-worlds-thinnest-balloon, it’s conceivable that with only a single input of sufficient helium, a blimp holding an electric generator could remain airborne for months or even years on end with minimal effort. At an altitude of only a few hundred feet above sea level, there are CONSTANT windspeeds that match or exceed our greatest recorded values for conventional wind turbines (which only work when the wind is actually blowing at slightly above sea level). Also, because both of our concepts are airborne, and because windspeeds only a few hundred feet up are exceptionally high worldwide, these machines could potentially generate electricity in remote areas inaccessible to conventional power sources, or even in the middle of the ocean!
  • http://21stcenturysocialcritic.blogspot.com.es Fernando Leanme
    Better plan on using hydrogen. Helium isn’t available in the volumes you need for massive deployment.
• Manojb Gowda
  A great idea developers!
  I want to add more to your idea, Can you add a radio control circuit for your kite? so that you can have a better control over it.
  Good luck for your project.
• Murad Rahimov
  What do I think?? I would fund this if I had the money

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POSSIBLE DUAL ROTOR TECHNOLOGY FOR WIND TURBINES

Iowa State Aerospace Engineers Anupam Sharma and Hui Hu are exploring the possibility of adding a smaller, secondary rotor to wind turbines. The engineers studied the base of existing turbines and found two major problems. First, they are big round structural pieces that don’t harvest any wind energy because they are not shaped like an airfoil. Second, the large base of the blades actually disrupt the wind, causing a wake behind them which reduces the energy harvesting capacity of any downwind turbines. Hu says that a turbine in the slipstream of another “can lose 8 to 40 percent of its energy production, depending on conditions.”

Their solution? Add a second, smaller rotor. “To try to solve these problems, we put a small rotor on the turbine,” Hu said. “And we found that with two rotors on the same tower, you get more energy.” Lab tests and computer simulations found the extra blades and increase the energy harvest by up to 18 percent. “These are fairly mature technologies we’re talking about – a 10 to 20 percent increase is a large change,” Sharma said.

Using a one-year, $116,000 grant from the Iowa Energy Center, the pair is currently using wind tunnels and computer simulations to study the dual rotor idea and measure power outputs and wind loads. The questions they hope to answer are: How is the wake distributed? Where are the whirling vortices? How could the wake be manipulated to pull down air and recharge the wind load?

They plan to use the research results to find the best aerodynamic design for a dual-rotor turbine. The goal is to find out where the second rotor should be located, how big it should be, what kind of airfoil it should have, and if it should rotate in the same direction or in the opposite direction.

The above image (courtesy of Anupam Sharma) shows air flowing through a dual-rotor turbine. Read more details about the research over at the Iowa State website.

What do you think? Could a second rotor make wind turbines more efficient? Leave your comments below…

• K_A_J
  Tveksam om det om det ökar verkningsgraden i samma takt som kostnadsökningen?
  • dcard88
    I agree. lol
• Installing windwheels with dou
  Installing
  windwheels with double rotor is the wrong way in the development of wind
  energy. The study of modular windwheels and test them for 4 years vetropoligone
  VIESH showed that the effectiveness of efficiency increases by 5-8%. The tests
  were conducted in a wind tunnel and field conditions for 3 years from 2009-2013
  g vetropoligone Istra, Moscow Region team of scientists led by wind power
  Dorzhiev Sergei

  Currently,
  the team headed by S.S. Dorjiev offered, manufacture and test the wind wheel
  with the efficiency of 400-500%, in contrast to windwheels double rotor. If
  you want can be contacted by DSS.61@mail.ru
• Jason
  more torque can the hull handle it
• K
  I have been around walls or buildings that channel airflow. Why can’t we make a wind tunnel to compress the airflow into a steady stream then put turbines into the stream we want? I see scientists battling with inconsistent wind but why can’t we conform the wind first then stick a turbine into that wind stream?
  • Matthias
    The answer is pretty simple – the combination of the needed structure and a resulting smaller wind turbine is more expensive than the current concept of a bigger free flow wind turbine. It has been studied in various places, but if you want a literature starter, try the excellent book “Innovation in wind turbine design” by Jamieson.

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THE EIFFEL TOWER INSTALLS TWO WIND TURBINES

The 126 year old Eiffel Tower is going green! A pair of camouflaged VisionAIR5 wind turbines were installed inside the scaffolding on the second floor, and are expected to generate 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every year. That’s enough to power the tower’s entire first floor; including history exhibits, a souvenir shop and restaurants. The sleek, silent and durable turbines are expected to last 20 years. In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the tower, they will also be installing a rainwater collection system, LED lighting, and solar panels. Scroll down for photos and video.

Photos

Watch the video:

(One turbine can be seen spinning on the right hand side of the second platform)

Photo/Video Credits: Urban Green Energy

What do you think about landmark attractions installing green technologies? Leave your comments below…

• Pieter Siegers
  I think very good initiative, if so many people visit the Eiffel and see these wind turbines then thay might consider doing the same in their community: set up a big wind turbine in a community project. Together with rooftop solar this is a very good combination to help switch to clean energies.
  That said, I would like to see some evidence the turbines are working and what are they used for. Is there any?

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TREE SHAPED WIND TURBINES TO BE INSTALLED IN PARIS

A French company called New Wind is installing tree-shaped wind turbines at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. The company’s founder, Jérôme Michaud-Larivière came up with the idea while in a Paris square, when he “saw the leaves tremble when there was not a breath of air.” He hopes the trees can be used to exploit small air currents flowing along buildings and streets, and could eventually be installed in people’s yards and urban centres.

He is the first to admit the efficiency of the trees is low compared to more consistent currents higher up, but believes the £23,500 trees are more viable and less intrusive than ‘monstrous’ conventional wind turbines. The 26 foot high trees, which use tiny blades inside the ‘leaves’, could potentially be profitable after a year of wind speeds averaging 7.8 mph. They can generate electricity in wind speeds as low as 4.5 mph. Scroll down for more photos and the video.

Photos

Watch the video:

Visit the New Wind R&D Website (French)

What do you think? Could these decorative wind turbines be a viable energy source? Leave your comments below…

• SirSparks
  Just had to be a French idea!
  • Econazi
    and what is wrong with this being a French idea? In a globalized community, it’s expected that other countries start creating different styles of alternative energy since the US’s citizens are still too busy saying climate change isn’t real!!! Wake up and smell the pollution and start conserving water man! Our resources will be gone in my lifetime, and I’m only in my 20’s.
    • Phenix
      No need to assume the term “French idea” is intended as being an insult…. the French have historically discovered and invented a huge list of incredible things so saying it had to be a French idea is actually quite appropriate. Relax, not everything or everyone on the internet is trying to insult everything and everyone else.
    • SirSparks
      Chill !!!
    • Yugwen
      Is that what they teach you in school or did you find that on the internet? The sky really isn’t falling. Doom and gloom has been around since the first caveman stubbed his toe and declared rocks are evil and will cripple humanity to extinction. Relax there is more than enough of everything for everyone and it will always be that way. Greedy people and lazy people create shortages, nothing more nothing less. We can produce enough algae to feed as many humans as we can breed. We can pull water from rocks, desalinate, re-use, recycle, to the point that we could make do with the same water for a long long time. Just because we aren’t doing something doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Humans are lazy and wasteful as long as they can get away with it. It will be ok. People will adapt and change… or we will get a global pandemic virus, nuke ourselves to extinction, or get hit by a space object and all die long before a lack of resources. As SirSparks said, chill. It’s all good.
      • Johanna Gavert
        Agreed!
        How can I get one of theses for my backyard?
• 1solartopia1
  wow…these a really cool & could solve a lot of problems for neighborhood wind installations in suburban areas where big blades will never fly….
• Teisha Coyour
  How well do these work with snow and ice?
  • Yugwen
    Seems like they should work pretty well. They are mostly vertical and if they are moving it seems like snow would have a hard time hanging on. I’m sure in places where the trees get iced over they would do the same and lock up unless they use some of the power to heat the structure. If they self heated as needed they could probably work anywhere in any weather.
• Anonymous
  This is a perfect idea. Winter climates may have some trouble, but this would be worth the wait. Stylish and functional, no one could complain about “ugly” or “deadly” fans! I think these should be put to work immediately.
• ENetArch
  What do birds and other animals that nest in trees think of them?
  • raf
    I’m not sure that is the point. Plenty of other trees for birds to nest in.
    • Yugwen
      Actually, it should be part of the point. It looks like a tree, or at least like a structure animals might want to land on or take refuge in. If it is lethal to any small animals that get close or try to land on it who is going to clean up the mess? How many dead animals is worth having cool looking wind power? Many areas have threatened populations, having wind power that kills all day every day would be something the animals could not adapt to. Trees are not normally predators animals have to watch out for.
      • JBMoorpark
        Most birds stay away from spinning objects. Small whirligigs are often used in fields to discourage birds from eating produce. I think the birds would be smart enough to figure out that it’s not something advisable to perch in or on.
        • ImAPoliticalGirl
          Not so…ever hear of condor cuisinarts? Wind turbines kill thousands of birds.
• goaway
  Awesome! I’m sure even the birds will love them!
• Karen Latimer
  I love this idea. This would be great for West Texas! Our winds reach excesses of 70-80 miles per hour. I wonder how they would fair with that much wind, though.
  • Gary Richardson
    Traditional 3 Blade wind turbines can rotate their blades by facing high speed winds in order to reduce damage. This scoop design may benefit by adding a vertically telescoping feature that can be retracted at high speeds. Also, the generator can ease up on energy capture when the wind is directly blowing into the scoop to lessen load damage. By lessening load damage, the scoop will briefly spin faster but considering the light weight of the blade design, resuming higher loads at lesser wind angles will allow quick recovery at slower speeds.
• Liz
  Does anyone know how they are made? Or how long they can be expected to last?
• Yugwen
  Only concern I have with these is the same with a lot of other wind generators, but probably more so because these are so organic looking. Does this thing kill birds and other wildlife? If the blade back, the smooth rounded side, is the impact side it seems like this would be a lot safer than traditional designs. Efficiency is important, but safety and habitat should not be excluded from the value calculation. These could be put all over in desert climates and do double duty as wind power, habitat, and even provide shade.
• Craig King
  No. These are toys.
• Samiullah M Shaikh
  i have doubt …..that each have a oen genarter .or not
• Purushotham Gandikota
  Nice….Can u people tell me for every wind leaf consisting of individual generator.?
• ImAPoliticalGirl
  Birds can’t see the spinning blades, that’s why out west the turbines are called condor cuisinarts. Plus, wind turbines are inefficient — about 17 percent. You have to have fossil fuel back ups for when the wind stops blowing. These energy sources are on hold and waiting…to go to full power when the wind stops blowing. It will take many wind turbines covering thousands of acres to produce the power one energy plant produces.
  • Gary Richardson
    If you are talking about Capacity Factor (CF) as the measure of efficiency, which in Germany averaged a little over 17%, includes older turbines. In contrast, modern turbines, especially offshore turbines where winds blow more constantly, have been known to exceed 50% CF and are expected to breach 60% in the near future. As far as bird fatalities go, I agree that safety of birds, bats, etc.. is very important. The Human Race’s dominance has many times in the past led to extinction of species at detriment to our ecosystem and must be handled wisely with great innovative passion. My perspective on this design here shows no indication of risk to birds any worse than wind blowing tree branches. At low wind speeds, the spinning turbines are light in weight and slow enough to recover from an impact. At high speeds, the danger of being smacked by a branch can prove equally fatal. As a result of this new approach to generating power, each design has great potential for positive judgement by it’s own merits, and be given the benefit of doubt as well.
• http://batman-news.com Carol DiPirro
  It would be great to hear how they are doing. I think it’s a great design but the proof is in using them!
• http://ricardoteamor.pen.io Ricardo Teamor
  @karenlatimer:disqus but there are storage issues I believe. Canada also is very good at wind power generation and storage.
• gefff
  Love it! Vertical axis wind turbines don’t decapitate or fry birds and other wildlife. An attractive, viable solution. How do I order one for my yard?
• Gary Richardson
  If the weight to stiffness ratio of these vertical turbines can be improved, then the ability to capture lower wind speeds into energy increases and less wear and tear at higher speeds. At the same time, these scoop shaped turbine blades show promise of excellent bird and bat safety.
• Robin Hughes
  Would like to see life cycle costing
• Mighk Wilson
  Their website claims output of about 2,400 KWH per year. For $33,000!? That’d take over a century to pay off. And considering the energy used to produce the thing… It’s a joke.
• Hadayai Majeed
  I see them used to recharge commercial batteries at least to start.

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