Giant wind turbines rising from the ground are a thing of the past. The future of alternative energy is in floating balloons. Altaeros Energies has announced the unveiling of a project in Alaska that will break the world record for the tallest wind turbine. It's a real power plant floating in the air!
At a height 300 meters will be BATTERY (Buoyant Airborne Turbine or floating wind turbine) companies Altaeros Energies for more than 80 meters higher than the current world record holder - a wind turbine Vestas V164-8MW.
BAT is designed to generate energy with low costs for remote towns that are currently powered by expensive diesel generators. Such places include, for example, remote island communities, isolated farms, rescue organizations in disaster-stricken areas, and even military bases.
BAT uses s helium charged shells to rise to high altitudes where they are the winds stronger and more consistent. In the middle of the inflatable turbine is located rotor, which sends electricity to a base on the ground via solid mooring cables. The technology was last tested last year and the prototype successfully withstood wind speeds of up to 73 kilometers per hour at a height of 150 meters.
In the future, BAT floating balloons are also expected to rise to 600 meters altitudes and their construction will be for ninety percent cheaper from standing wind turbines. Otherwise, the floating balloon technology is borrowed from the existing so-called Blimps, which are used to lift communication and weather satellites high above the Earth. Altaeros, on the other hand, developed the ability to adjust height to increase the energy output. This allows the device to be placed at the height where the winds are strongest and thus produce up to three times more energy than ordinary stationary wind turbines.
The company they founded Ben Glass and Adam Rein, started its activity in 2010, and since then, since business angels and some state funds have already collected more than one million euros in funds. The company's CEO, Ben Glass, said he expects a kilowatt-hour price of around 13 cents, which is still very expensive compared to the market. However, twice as cheap for Alaska, which pays an average of 25 cents per kilowatt hour. In some remote areas, the price reaches up to 72 cents per kilowatt hour. In the future, he wants to supply Altaeros as well coast of the Pacific Ocean, where the authorities have already approved the testing of floating wind turbines. In such areas, the water is too deep to submerge standard foundations for standing offshore wind turbines.
