HIGH WINDS

Here's the reply for the next time somebody says "Go fly a kite."

Airborne Wind Turbines
David Gelles, December 9, 2007 (NY Times)

WHO
Magenn Power (Mac Brown, COO)

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WHAT
One proposed solution to wind energy’s intermittency is to float a turbine a thousand feet up where the wind may vary but never stops blowing. Magenn has such a turbine design, Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS).

WHEN
- MARS has been in planning for a few years.
- In the fall, Magenn got $5 million to build prototypes from a California investor.
- In October, the MARS got a U.S. patent.

WHERE
- Magenn Power is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- Because Brown talks about the turbine’s ability to serve rural off-the-grid villages, the governments of India and Pakistan are interested.
- MARS will produce 10 kilowatts of electricity anywhere on earth.

WHY
- MARS is helium filled. It carries electrical generators and is tethered to the ground by a conductive copper cable. It is 100 feet wide. The turbine spinning on a horizontal axis drives the generators, converting the mechanical wind energy to electricity and sending it along the copper cable for use or battery storage.
- Larger models, big enough to power a skyscraper, are being designed.
- Besides beating ground-based turbine intermittencies, the size of the MARS prevents it from causing any problems for birds or bats.

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QUOTES
Brown, Magenn: “At a thousand feet, there is steady wind anywhere in the world…Picture a spinning Goodyear blimp…This thing is bigger than a house…A bird can see it and a bat can sense it.”