The current wing is an inflateable wing specially built by a kitesurfing manufacturer for the Delft team
It’s possible that at least some of Africa’s next wave of rural electricity will come from the sky.
Delft University of Technology has a program devoted to kite-based generation systems, with 20 years of research and development under their belt since Wubbo Ockels, the first Dutch astronaut, established it. Now, members of the team are exploring practical niches where kite-based power might pay off. One has just completed a trip through Kenya, Tanzania and Senegal seeking opportunities for kite generation in rural Africa.
Christopher Grete, a member of the Delft KitePower curriculum focusing on deployment of kite generation, has just returned from an extended trip through Africa where he was drumming up interest in using kite-based generation in rural Africa. This is an area typically poorly served by the national grids and with significant logistical challenges for major construction. Delft has been researching kite-based generation since 1993 when the first Dutch astronaut into space, Wubbo Ockels, established the program. The faculty has several professors and students engaged in simulating, prototyping and assessing all aspects of the field, but are just starting to seriously consider commercialization.
Innovative wind generation systems have a tendency to focus on the technology instead of a target business niche, and the Delft team is no exception. They have advanced three different types of kites over the years, including inflated tube kites similar to those used by kite surfers, inflated airplane-style kites and airfoil kites.
They have stayed with fabric kites which typically have an advantage for deployment, crashes and recovery of airborne generation while giving up top-end power to rigid wings. The inflated and airplane kites they use have greater speed and hence power advantages over airfoils, but of course depend on either ground-based repressurizing, or as yet unbuilt airborne repressurization systems. This is a similar challenge to their counterparts at TwingTec, who use a unique, inflated structural member of high-strength.
The Delft staff have tried a mixture of control systems over the years. For some of their prototypes they have used radio controls, while for others they use ground-based tether controls just as any traction- or stunt-kiter is familiar with. They have settled on an airborne, radio-controlled system positioned in the bridle of the kite that hauls in and releases the control tethers for the kites using microwinches. This increases airborne complexity, but eliminates multiple lines running all the way to the ground and multiple ground winches for control. It also allows easy depowering of the kite for the upwind pull. This is a very reasonable compromise, and the solution allows intelligence of automated control to be ground-based or in the control unit itself in the future.
The Latest Bing News on:
Kite power
- The best Mordekaiser counters in League of Legendson April 10, 2021 at 1:01 pm
"None can escape me." The post The best Mordekaiser counters in League of Legends appeared first on Dot Esports.
- Seeing quadrupleon April 9, 2021 at 1:14 am
The latest study, which spanned only a year and a half, increases the number of known quads by about 25 percent and demonstrates the power of machine learning to ... "Gemini's Crossbow;" GraL ...
- New kiteboarder identification sticker helps rescue teamson April 8, 2021 at 9:03 am
Every year, hundreds of kiteboarders experience an equipment failure, sudden loss of wind power, and get stranded or lost out at ... "One of the most frequent issues is floating kites in the ocean ...
- Litter cleared from Kite Beach, Sandbankson April 7, 2021 at 12:05 am
OVER 20 large bags of litter were cleared from Sandbanks last week following a large gathering on Kite Beach. Members of the Coacoara Foundation, a local non-profitable foundation, cleared away about ...
- Kite Packaging have brought to market their new range of reusable, recyclable and biodegradable shredded paperon April 6, 2021 at 1:43 am
Kite’s reusable, recyclable and biodegradable FSC and PEFC ... to many void fill solutions provides great cushioning for fragile products with good holding power.
- Quick response team for power supplyon April 1, 2021 at 7:27 pm
NEW DELHI: To ensure uninterrupted power supply in the national capital during summer ... It will also lay control cables, cut tree branches whenever required and remove kite threads or birds in ...
- New Book ‘Kindness is a Kite String’ Examines Power of Empathy, Kindnesson April 1, 2021 at 1:05 pm
Even just a little kindness can make a huge impact in the world. During the craziness of the last year, it can be hard to remember just how powerful kindness truly is. That’s where the children’s book ...
- Easter kite flying warning from Belcoon April 1, 2021 at 4:28 am
Belco is advising the public to take care when flying kites over the Easter weekend. The electricity provider said that kites frequently get tangled in power lines, causing not only blackouts, but ...
- Ocean Power Developers Made Crucial Progress in 2020on April 1, 2021 at 1:13 am
Tidal and wave energy installations in 2020 brought global cumulative installations for ocean energy to almost 60 MW. Another 6 MW of wave and tidal energy is slated for deployment this year, suggesti ...
- BELCO: Exercise Caution When Flying Kiteson March 31, 2021 at 5:54 am
Among those precautions is a reminder to fly kites in open spaces, far away from power lines, “If a kite string or tail becomes tangled in a power line, it poses a risk for the person flying the ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Kite power
The Latest Bing News on:
Wind generation systems
- COLUMN System is stacked against us ratepayerson April 11, 2021 at 4:00 am
Then add the profit on that, too. Most folks don’t know that wind farms and solar need backup generators because the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine, and new power ...
- Ameren seeks rate increase to fund grid upgrade, wind generationon April 10, 2021 at 9:52 am
Energy company Ameren Missouri has requested to increase customer rates in 2022 to cover billions of dollars invested in electric grid upgrades and new wind generation facilities. The company said in ...
- Smart Wind Market: A Smart Way to Enhance the Generation Capabilities For Tomorrow Energyon April 10, 2021 at 5:09 am
Key players operating in the smart wind market include Xcel Energy, GE Power, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Omniflow, GaN Systems, Nextek Power Systems, and Nebula Energy. Power generation ...
- More than half of Iowa's power now comes from wind, as state nears 6,000 turbineson April 9, 2021 at 5:39 am
The plant's retirement is part of Alliant's broader goal to eliminate coal from its power generation system by 2040, the company said. Proponents say wind farms bring needed tax revenue to rural ...
- EV 2nd Generation Wind Lock Down System Gets Approved by the City of Los Angeleson April 9, 2021 at 12:04 am
EV Materials Corporation reports that its 2nd Generation Wind Lock Down System (wind uplift system) has been approved by LADBS.
- EGEB: Texas wind power smashes records in Marchon April 7, 2021 at 7:14 am
Texas wind topped 10.4 million MWh in March, 2 million MWh above its previous high; the UK's power grid CO2 fell to a record low on Monday.
- It Takes Big Energy to Back Up Little Wind and Solaron April 7, 2021 at 6:42 am
Gas fired generation might be best ... Don’t forget, the high pressure systems that cause low wind can be huge, covering a dozen or more states. They can last for days. For that matter, no one has ...
- Wind Power Systems Market Share 2021 CAGR Status, Top Key Players, Analysis, Revenue, Price, Industry Size, Growth Rate, Forecast by 2026on April 6, 2021 at 12:29 am
... use of air flow through wind turbines to provide the mechanical power to turn electric generators and traditionally to do other work. Global Wind Power Systems Market Development Strategy Pre and ...
- Next-Generation Wind Technologyon April 5, 2021 at 10:21 am
wind turbine. Since the early 1990s, the program worked with GE and its predecessors to test components such as blades, generators, and control systems on generations of turbine designs that led to GE ...
- 3 steps wind farm owners can take to keep turbines spinning through extreme coldon April 5, 2021 at 5:00 am
By Gareth Brown, CEO, Clir Renewables In February 2021, Texas faced a disastrous power failure as a result of an unexpectedly severe winter storm. Natural gas wells froze, transmission substations ...
