Flying windmills could harness the jet stream

Flying windmills tapping jet stream wind currents may sound far fetched, but groups in the US, Netherlands and Canada say such devices may soon be within reach. If successfully developed, they could harness an enormous amount of reliable, renewable energy.

“If we were able to tap 1% of the wind energy at high altitude, that would be enough to supply all the world’s energy needs,” says David Shepard, president of renewable energy startup Sky WindPower, in Coronado, California.

Shepard says he plans to begin building a 220kw Flying Electric Generator (FEG) prototype later in 2007, and hopes to have it flying at 4500 metres by the summer of 2009. Sketches of the contraption show four rotary blades connected to an H-shaped aluminum frame, which is tethered to the ground by a high-voltage power line.

NewScientist