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Kitegen is one of my top two favorite potential wind power technologies.
Kitegen received about 15 million euro in funding and it looks like they will have a 3 megawatt stem built in 2010.
How large is a Kite Gen power plant?It depends of the configuration. A wind farm of 9 Kite Gen Stem, with a total nominal power of 27 MW, cover a square area of 2,5 ha. In the Carousel configuration the generator ring of a 100 MW power plant has a diameter of approx. 1,000 m.
How much energy does a Kite Gen power plant produce?
It is estimated that a 100 MW power plant can produce approx. 500 GWh yearly. This is the amount that 86,000 Europeans consumed in 2003
What is the cost of the energy produced by a Kite Gen power plant?
A 100 MW Carousel power plant is estimated to deliver energy for less than 0.03 Euro per kWh, which is cheaper than fossil fuel-based generation. Even lower costs are to be expected from bigger and more powerful plants. In the Stem configuration the foreseen cost is around 0.05 € per kWh
3 MW Kitegen Stem
Kitegen Carousel
As the power kites circle in the air, at an altitude of 800 – 1000m, the vertical rotating axis of the structure activates large scale alternators, that have been geared down to receive the force exerted on them. At its full capacity the flight of the entire power kites array is guided, so as to turn the carousel at the desired speed, with a capacity factor estimated at 5,000 hours per year (57% capacity factor).
Maximum reachable size is under study, but first evaluations shows that 1,000 MW (1GW) can be exceeded, without significant structural risks, with a diameter of approximately 1,600m. As well as the Kite Gen onshore generator, the Carousel generator finds an ideal application on off-shore platforms
40 Kw KSU1 Prototype
Kitegen built a prototype, KSU1, which used a kite that flew to 800 meters with automatic controls. The experiments lasted three days and required special permits from civil and military aviation.
Here is 39 page presentation from 2009
My Top Two Wind Generation Technologies
My top two are:
1. Seamus Garvey, Nimrod Energy, proposal for 1000 foot radically redesigned wind turbines
It could lower the cost of wind energy by four times.
2. Kitegen – kite powered wind generation. There are others competing with variant systems that use the principle of kite powered generation. These systems can access stronger and more steady winds at higher altitudes and use far less material to generate the power. Current turbines use ten times more steel and concrete to generate a MW versus a nuclear power plant.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.