Check out the proposed wind turbine! by Todd Leopold, CNN Look, up in the sky! It’s a blimp! It’s a kite! It’s a …wind turbine? Yes, that strange-looking, helium-filled winged gray doughnut with the propeller-like blade in the center is a wind turbine – a Buoyant Airborne Turbine, or BAT, to be precise. And it just may be the answer for supplying energy to underserved regions, as well as providing cheaper and safer wind energy to the United States. The BAT is the brainchild of Altaeros Energies, a Boston-based company founded by four MIT grads. With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the California Energy Commission, among many, the company’s stated goal is to “deploy the world’s first commercial airborne wind turbine to harness the abundant energy in strong, steady winds at higher altitudes,” particularly in remote locations. Wind turbines have become common in certain areas around the world. But the towering machines have drawbacks: their power generation is unreliable and sometimes more costly than established forms. They can be deadly to birds. Moreover, they’re often criticized for their unsightliness. One planned wind farm, off the coast of Cape Cod, has been mired in controversy for years, partly because it would spoil the views of scenic areas. The BAT, says Altaeros, avoids many of those issues. The turbines, which are tethered to a power station on the ground, are portable. They’re less problematic with birds and the surrounding environment. And at altitudes as high as 1,000 feet, they’re more productive than ground-based turbines, since winds are much stronger and more consistent at high altitudes. “The reason high-altitude wind is so exciting and worth going after is really very simple: there’s just a lot more of it,” says CEO Ben Glass in a promotional video. Other companies, including a Google subsidiary, also have high-altitude wind turbines in development. The BAT won’t necessarily displace other forms of energy. Wind power can be expensive on its own. But in the remote areas Altaeros is targeting, it can be far more economical than the alternatives. Altaeros currently is testing the BAT in Alaska, and hopes to bring power to other isolated areas. In addition, the BAT may be able to function as a communications tool, useful for Internet and telephone transmission and weather coverage, as well as become handy in a crisis. If a disaster levels a local grid, a few BATs can provide emergency power. Sounds like a hit. cnn/interactive/2014/06/tech/cnn10-inventions/?hpt=hp_c2
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 19:46:14 +0000
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