The Real Winds Of Change
by Blair Hedley
Imagine, for a moment, an infinite
natural energy source that moves
predictably and with tremendous
strength. Its use causes almost no
ecological impact beyond the initial
construction and placement
of the needed equipment. And as
long as the right machines are in
place, it never runs out.
Such a thing does exist on
Earth. The only difficulty is in
reaching it.
If you go high enough in the
air, the atmosphere becomes thinner,
and the wind blows steadily at
high speeds. Engineers on several
continents are working on harnessing
this natural jet stream to
create High-Altitude Wind Power
(HAWP).
It works like this: wind turbines
are built into a specially designed
kite, glider, blimp, or kytoon (a
combination of kite and balloon),
which are then tethered to the
ground by a long cable used to
carry electricity from the turbines
to the power grid, providing a
constant supply. Alternately, wind
currents could move one of these
small aircraft back and forth, pulling
a cable to manipulate a turbine
on the ground.
The difficulties with this idea
are obvious. “High altitude” is
usually defined as beginning at
2,400m above sea level, and optimal
heights for permanent, largescale
HAWP systems may be greater
than that. While engineers have
laid and maintained much longer
cables on the sea floor since the
age of the telegraph, keeping them
aloft for months or years at a time
may be problematic. Procedures
for lowering and re-launching
HAWP machines would be necessary
in case of damage caused by
accidents or wear and tear. Designated
no-fly zones would have to
be set up, charted, and explained to
anyone with a pilot’s license in order
to prevent collisions between
aircraft and HAWP cables.
Despite this, the advantages of
HAWP outweigh the disadvantages.
Ground-based wind farms have
a serious flaw: if the wind stops,
they stop. The most common way
around this is to use them in conjunction
with power sources such
as solar, geothermal, biomass, and,
in emergencies, the good old-fashioned
electrical grid.
Since the mid-2000s, interest
and development of HAWP methods
have taken off dramatically.
Magenn Power, Inc., based in Canada
and the U.S., has had working
prototypes of their Magenn Air
Rotor System (MARS) since 2008,
and plans to begin building them
for commercial release either this
year or the next. The MARS is
not the most ambitious of these,
as it reaches only about 1,000ft
(304.8m) high, but it does promise
to be useful in remote locations
and developing countries.
Others have bigger plans. In
Jan. of this year, china5e.com
reported that China’s first largescale
HAWP project had been
approved for construction in Foshan
City, Guangdong Province,
“with an investment of 400 million
yuan.” The article noted that
a single kite will generate about
100,000 kilowatts, and cost much
less than traditional methods generating
the same amount of power.
This will be the first time that wind
power will be more cost-effective
than coal, the article said.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Zanatti
Studios, which has only existed
since 2002, is testing its own prototypes.
Their “Twind” is a combination
of balloons and parachutes
designed to move back and forth,
turning a ground-based pulley
wheel that moves a turbine.
Modern civilization’s dependence
on finite fossil fuels continues
to cause a myriad of problems:
from resource wars to environmental
damage, to the global energy
crisis. HAWP technology, once
perfected, could go a long way to
solving these problems. High-altitude
winds have enough energy
to power much of the grid—in
theory. Expense has always been
a barrier to the adoption of new
technologies, but if HAWP is
like other once new innovations,
development will soon be a costeffective
step toward sustainable
human civilization.