There have been some rumblings, so to speak, of the so-called low-frequency noises that windmills are said to produce. I’m don’t buy into them, but a bunch of spinning machines in your backyard isn’t desirable whether they cause nightmares or not. Furthermore, the wind they can harvest at ground level is weaker and less reliable than air currents above a few hundred feet. This floating wind harvester prototype is supposed to be an answer to those problems, and it looks pretty solid to me.
Yeah, this is pretty old, but you forget: a spinning electric zeppelin is forever. And we’re trying to get the taste of Apple out of our mouths.
It’s essentially a big balloon that spins on a central axis — parallel to the wind instead of opposed to it, if I understand correctly. It’d be tethered to the ground, of course, and just send its power right on down that line. It has a few legs up on regular wind turbines: it works in a wider range of wind speeds, can be used in more places, and it can be moved around with less effort. Looks futuristic, too — people love that.
Of course, there are also numerous downsides (which Redditors are cataloging): Helium is expensive and the floats must be refilled. Storms could easily snap the cable, I’m guessing. Huge hazard for small aircraft (seaplanes for instance fly around 600-1000ft)…
Here’s a little video illustration showing how it works:
I’m don’t buy into them either.
I immediately get excited by the thought of one of these floating over my apartment building generating power. Then I think about how the apartment management seems to have a hard time just maintaining the plumbing in my sink, and I realize it will forever be a fantasy.
These were on TV a few months back. It was a programme about solving some of the environmental problems we have. If I remember correct it was on the discovery channel.
could work in some regions. You won’t see these going up in any tornado regions and maybe only seasonal use in hurricane alleys.
the real question is how much power each balloon can produce. its clearly a pretty in genius and cheap solution to generating power from wind though.
Woohoo, cant wait for this thing to cut off some poor guy’s head as he walks near it in a windy day.
That or strong wind snapping the cable and taking out someone’s eye, or better yet smashing the wind screen of a car nearby.
The future sounds a lot more exciting than today.
It could work even in a tornado zone. I live in Indiana and a tornado has never come close enough to rip off my roof. I am sure in tornadoes zones you would have thicker cable than other areas and would definitely want to have insurance on the generator. Tornadoes only affect a relatively small area compared to hurricanes. Hurricanes have a more widespread effect and this concept probably would not work out so well. But they can use wave generators there.
i can’t wait till these hit the main stream. some thoughts in the mean time: (coming from someone in the wind business)
- permitting anything over 500 feet tall is VERY difficult. many locations will be restricted by nearby airports. however, this does have the added benefit (guessing…) of not interfering with radar and other important waves as there are no blades
- these things will be HUGE. the largest wind turbine shown in the graph is prob a 2 MW machine. They’re giving the maximum size of the one shown at 1 MW and it’s quite a bit larger than the largest turbine shown (tho land based have gotten even bigger since 2004 and offshore is a completely different story)
- tethering them in place will be difficult. guy wires will be needed, running from all sides, to keep them reasonably in one place. just like a lot of radio towers (the skinny ones) with wires running off every side and into the ground.
now for some pros:
- will most likely be a LOT cheaper. 2 million a MW for current technology, and over 70% of that usually comes from the turbine itself. eliminate how many tons of steel and you reduce the price dramatically.
- no construction constraints. current technology requires roads large enough and straight enough to transport 150+ foot blades. this is a giant balloon. stuff it into the back of a normal truck, bring some helium, and go offroad. stick it on top of a mt.
- seems like it would be bird/bat friendly. lower construction impact (though wind is already very low compared to almost all other energy types).
conclusion: awesome technology, can’t wait till it works, doubtful that it will be in the next few years. got my fingers crossed though…!