
Google parent pulls the plug on power-generating kite project - ckastner
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/google-parent-pulls-the-plug-on-power-generating-kite-project/
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peter_d_sherman
Holy Crap! Makani's idea is brilliant, and I haven't even heard of them!

As a child, I recall getting a kite high enough such that it was in a constant
wind, such that it could be tethered, and it would basically "fly itself".

Well, Makani's idea appears to be a version of the above -- but you also put
propellers/turbines and generators on the kite, and the kite is replaced by a
more solid glider airframe...

Net result if it works?

The glider flys high up enough in the air such that there is always a
windstream. That windstream drives propeller/turbine blades (much like in
stationary windfarms), which in turn, turn generators.

Then you send the electric power back down to the earth via the tether, which
is also an electric cord...

A brilliant idea.

I wonder exactly what went wrong, such that this project had to be shelved...

