That's the goal of scientists from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands who recently tested a small-scale model of a renewable energy generator that uses kites instead of turbines to harness wind power. As the kite rises it pulls a cable that turns a generator and makes electricity. When the kite reaches the end of its line (about 800 meters above the ground), its reeled in and the process starts again.
The scientists say that the winds at 800 meters are stronger than the average wind speed at 80 meters off the ground - the height of most wind turbines - so in theory the kites can generate more power than turbines. The winds aloft also tend to blow more steadily and reliably than those near the ground.
The kite idea is being funded by Google's philanthropic arm google.org, among other groups. The scientists from Delft U. say the cost of kite-based generators could be half the price of wind turbines.
Wind is being touted as one of the renewable energy sources that can replace fossil fuels like oil and coal. Hopefully these energy-producing kites will get some serious research funding. Right now the only way to harness wind power is through giant wind turbines, which honestly are pretty ugly. From an aesthetic point of view I think a field of wind turbines is just as ugly as a field of oilrigs. But past that, the early research shows that kites could produce more power at a lower price than turbines. Hopefully research will be done into kite technology before we start building turbines all over the place, like some (Al Gore, T. Boone Pickens) are advocating we do. In the US we've already made the mistake in bio-fuels of committing to a high cost/low return source (corn-based ethanol), hopefully we won't do the same thing with wind power - jumping into one technology (turbines) without researching some promising alternatives.
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