Boston: Startup airborne wind energy company opening vast new sources of renewable power at a cost competitive with fossil fuels. Patent-pending airborne wind turbine adapts safe and reliable aerospace technology to harness stronger and more consistent winds a few hundred meters in the air at rural, military, island, and offshore sites.
The global wind energy market exceeded $65 billion in 2009. Yet many regions that demand cleaner energy lack wind projects because (I) Wind resources are too weak at ground level to be economical, (II) Good winds are far from transmission lines and demand centers, or (III) Community concerns about noise, visibility & environmental impact.
These problems have pushed many regions, such as the UK, Germany and New England, to begin harnessing offshore wind energy, despite costs that are 2-3x higher than onshore due to expensive turbines, huge underwater foundations, and massive logistics ships. Offshore turbines are also limited to regions with shallow waters, creating major permitting headaches. Communities, developers, and utilities are seeking lower cost solution to produce wind energy at new onshore and offshore sites.
This company is developing a groundbreaking buoyant shroud to passively lift a lightweight turbine a few hundred meters in the air to harness strong winds out of reach of traditional turbines. The aerodynamic shroud maximizes energy capture by augmenting wind flow while passively stabilizing into changing winds. Electricity is transmitted down a conductive tether to a base-station and on to the end user.
The company lowers operational risk by adapting proven aerostat (tethered blimp) technology that has been safely used for decades in the surveillance & weather monitoring sectors. Aerostats are rated to weather 100 mph winds and lightening. Existing FAA regulations for moored balloons and wind turbines will provide the basis for the company to deploy its system at heights up to 2,000 feet.
The company will reduce the levelized costs of energy by up to 60% compared to current offshore wind. Capital costs are lowered by a third by removing the expensive underwater foundation and using a smaller, efficient turbine. The company's airborne turbine can harness up to four times the energy with double the capacity factor of a similar-sized ground turbine by tapping stronger winds at higher altitudes.
The airborne wind sector has received over $40 million of institutional investment to date. The company is developing the only airborne turbine that delivers a low levelized cost of energy at utility scale while adapting a simple design with decades of proven safe and reliable operations.
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