There has been a lot of talk about the energy of our wind turbines in recent years. Initially thought of as the answer to the global energy crisis, we soon realized how many turbines and how much space it would actually take to power the world.
People are already on the warpath because wind turbines are ruining scenic landscapes, and environmentalists are concerned that birds will get caught in the blades. But what if there was a solution? Such a revolutionary idea that it is hard to imagine …
It seems there is. Time magazine even named it one of the best inventions of 2008. It’s called “Flying Electric Generator.”
So what is it?
The FEG is a type of “helicopter” that hovers over the ground and generates power from strong winds at high altitude. But the surprising thing is that the wind picks it up. To prevent it from flying off, it is tied to the ground, from where the electrical current is sent back to the ground.
As the FEG rises, it reaches stronger winds, allowing it to produce more energy. In fact, these high-altitude winds or jet streams have been said to be so strong that using just 1% of them could power the entire planet.
And when will it be operational?
So far, the only demonstration of an operational FEG has been in Australia, where they used electricity to take off. The experiment was very successful and showed that even with light winds close to the ground, the FEG floated there perfectly.
Next, they plan to test a larger 240 kW helicopter moored at up to 15,000 feet. And then they will scale even further to FEG with four rotors, capable of producing ten to forty megawatts of power, which is far more than the current highest capacity of five megawatt wind turbines.
People have had questions about how lightning or turbulence at high altitudes might affect the FEG. For lightning, there is a warning system in place where the FEG is simply lowered to the ground. Turbulence is not a problem as the helicopter acts like a kite and will simply go back to the way it was after a big gust of wind. And a combination of GPS and gyroscope will be used to control your pitch and roll.
So how much energy production is possible?
According to the San Diego-based company, Sky WindPower Corporation, a 600 FEG matrix with a power of 20MW and operating in a land space of 200 square miles could produce more than three times more megawatt hours per year than the 28,572,902MWh produced by Palos. Verde Arizona nuclear plant in 2003.
And only 43 of these FEG arrays operating at 85% capacity could produce up to 3,883,185,000MWh of power – that’s the total US power consumption in 2003.
And how much will this power cost us?
According to a careful study by Sky WindPower Corp, in the long term, the cost of a ten megawatt capacity FEG would be less than 2 cents per kilowatt hour (including land use costs). This is less than the energy costs of fossil fuels. But obviously, site selection and proximity to existing power lines are very important factors.
Whats Next?
Since the FEGs are still in the testing phase, we’re not quite sure how long it will be before we see something floating in the distance. But one thing is for sure is that if everything goes according to plan, we may see energy from wind generators the planet.