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A Chinese energy company has successfully tested an airship-like wind turbine that can generate energy above cities and inland areas.
The vessel soars thousands of feet into the air to take advantage of the steady wind speeds at high altitude, spinning turbines and generating electricity. This is then sent through a tethering cable to the ground below, where it can enter the power grid.
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In the test flight, the manufacturer flew the S2000 at an altitude of 6,560 feet (2,000 meters) over Sichuan province and generated 385 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
That’s enough to power the average U.S. home for about 13.3 days, according to usage figures provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The S2000 is 197 feet (60 meters) long, 131 feet (40 meters) high and 131 feet (40 meters) wide, Global Times reports. The total rated power capacity of this system is 3 megawatts.
The new technology has several potential uses, the developers suggest. “One is an off-grid environment, such as a border outpost, that serves as a relatively stable conventional energy source,” Wen Hanke, chief technology officer of Linyi Yunchuan Energy Technology, explained, as reported by Chao Times, an affiliate of the state-owned Zhejiang Daily News Group, via the Global Times.
“The other is to complement traditional land-based wind power systems, creating a three-dimensional approach to energy supply.”
If realized at scale, this approach could also have transformative potential for countries with limited space for onshore wind power, such as many countries in mainland Europe, or countries such as Japan, which lack the shallow seabed needed for offshore wind power.
However, the reliability of tether cables to provide stable power to the grid requires further testing.
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In all but the most remote rural areas, 1.25 miles (2,000 m) of cable can pose a dangerous obstacle to aircraft. In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority requires special permission to be applied for if a tethered balloon wishes to fly above 60 m (200 ft) to avoid risks to aircraft sharing airspace with the balloon.
In addition to safety concerns, the S2000 must also undergo rigorous testing to ensure reliable commercial operation. Standard wind turbines require regular maintenance and can be difficult and expensive to repair, as the aircraft must return to the ground for each repair.
wind power density
Wind turbines can generate more electricity in locations where wind density (a measure of the wind energy available at a given altitude) is higher. For example, offshore wind turbines can capture higher and more stable wind speeds over the open ocean.
These offshore turbines can be significantly larger than their onshore counterparts, with the hub of Chinese manufacturer Oriental Electric’s DEW-26 MW-310 offshore turbine standing at 606.9 feet (185 m). Floating wind turbines can be similarly huge, with China Huaneng Group’s recently unveiled record-breaking floating wind turbine tower reaching 489 feet (152 m).
For example, according to the Marine Cadastre National Viewer, a web-based data viewer created by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Management Office, the average offshore wind speed considered suitable for wind farms at elevations of 90 meters (295 feet) in U.S. waters is 7 meters per second.
The exact wind speed at different altitudes is difficult to say because it varies by location and weather.
Aerospace group Omnidea estimates that wind density increases approximately six times between altitudes of 100 to 2,500 meters (328 to 8,200 feet), resulting in an average wind speed of 33.5 miles per second (15 m/s) at 8,200 feet.
This highlights the potential efficiency that could be unlocked by further exploiting high-altitude wind speeds using coupled flying wind turbines like the S2000.
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