High Altitude Wind Energy Hots Spots Studied

High altitude wind generation is getting more serious attention these days and a new study assesses some wind energy "hot spots" in the heavens.

Stuart Fox at PopSci.com reports:

"With the US granting wind power plant leases off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware, the UK planning to overtake nuclear power with wind in five years, and even coal loving China getting in on the act, all the talk about wind power these days has focused on offshore wind farms. However, a new study suggests that the wind power mother lode may be up in the sky, not off in the sea. Sure, high altitude wind power isn't the newest idea in the world. Not only has the tech been around for a couple of years, but companies like Kite Gen and Sky WindPower are already trying to break into the market. However, this study is the first to identify the best spots to place the high-flying turbines." See full article.

Wind Power From On High

Suppose windmills floated high in the air?

Alexis Madrigal for WIRED Reports:

"The first rigorous, worldwide study of high-altitude wind power estimates that there is enough wind energy at altitudes of about 1,600 to 40,000 feet to meet global electricity demand a hundred times over. The very best ground-based wind sites have a wind-power density of less than 1 kilowatt per square meter of area swept. Up near the jet stream above New York, the wind power density can reach 16 kilowatts per square meter. The air up there is a vast potential reservoir of energy, if its intermittency can be overcome. Even better, the best high-altitude wind-power resources match up with highly populated areas including North America's Eastern Seaboard and China's coastline." See full article.