Future of Wind Turbine

In the near future, wind turbine could be sited in high altitudes in the air because of the strong and constant winds there. This idea has been suggested by professor Bryan Roberts in Australia from the University of Technology. The airborne wind turbine would look like a turbine with airfoils. It would be able to “float” in the air due to the lift the winds will act on the wings. The problem with this concept is that when the winds aren’t strong enough to maintain the turbines in the air, the turbine will fall. It has been suggested that helium balloons can be attached to the turbines to compensate for the low winds. Again, there is a downfall to the helium idea because as time passes, helium would dissipate from the balloons and more helium should be added back into the balloons. This task can be extremely difficult in high altitude with the presence of high winds. Another problem with airborne wind turbine is the requirement of very long power lines and much of the power would be lost through transmission lines. The last disadvantage of airborne wind turbines would be an aerial restriction zone for these turbines to prevent the airplanes from flying into them. Presently, an Ontario and a San Diego company, Magenn Power Inc. and Sky WindPower are trying to make these airborne turbines available on the market.