Environment

TwingTec aims to harvest wind power using kites

TwingTec aims to harvest wind power using kites
TwingTec's Twing (or tethered wing) prototype
TwingTec's Twing (or tethered wing) prototype
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TwingTec's prototype Twing above the Swiss Alps
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TwingTec's prototype Twing above the Swiss Alps
The Twing's ground station
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The Twing's ground station
TwingTec's prototype above the Swiss Alps
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TwingTec's prototype above the Swiss Alps
The Twing kite and ground station
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The Twing kite and ground station
The Twing with "lead out shifts" in the foreground
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The Twing with "lead out shifts" in the foreground
TwingTec's Twing (or tethered wing) prototype
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TwingTec's Twing (or tethered wing) prototype
The Twing above a small wind turbine
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The Twing above a small wind turbine
The Twing above a small wind turbine
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The Twing above a small wind turbine
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Poised halfway between the complexity of Makani and the simplicity of SkySails, the TwingTec TwingKite (or simply Twing, short for tethered wing) uses an advanced lightweight construction to generate energy from the wind. It has been awarded 10,000 Swiss Francs by the Venture Kick start-up funding program.

As anyone who has flown a kite or a paraglider, or landed under a parachute can tell you, the wind is stronger the higher off the ground you are. The wind slows with the drag of the earth and obstacles sticking up from it, and as this drag is reduced with altitude, the air's velocity increases. This has been a substantial factor behind the growth in generation capacity of traditional three-blade, horizontal axis wind turbines, the iconic white towers that dot the countryside in so many parts of the world. As they have been built taller and taller, the blades have been exposed to more and more wind, so they fly faster and in turn generate more electricity.

But many people have asked if there isn't a better way, perhaps one that does away with the tall white tower entirely.

TwingTec believes it has the answer: simply fly a rigid, very lightweight kite more than 100 m (328 ft) higher than the highest point a modern wind turbine blade reaches, let the strong wind generate power as it strips cable from a drum on the ground, then fly it out of the power zone and pull it back upwind with little effort. Repeat every two minutes or so, and a fair amount of electricity can be generated without a single white tower in sight.

Its system is evolving. In the past they had been using simple airfoil traction kites in a manner very similar to the SkySails Power System. However, the company knew that more power could be generated with a rigid wing kite. Its current model has an airfoil, a tail and an aileron that allows it to be controlled from the ground. As such, it has put a more complexity and potential fragility into the air, moving in the direction of Makani's rigid wing approach, recently acquired by Google.

Its secret sauce is Tensairity, a Swiss-invented, ultra-lightweight construction technology that has been around for a decade or so . It uses an overpressurized air filled cylinder with a lightweight compression spine and cables for tension. When filled correctly, it creates a very stiff beam at a fraction of the weight of conventional structures. This construction technique has been looking for a suitable application and has only been used in a handful of demonstration builds to date.

The leading edge of the Twing is a Tensairity beam, providing the basis for a rigid airfoil that is very lightweight yet also strong and crash resistant. The prototype flies much faster than the fabric airfoils previously used and creates more lift which can be used to generate more electricity.

It is unclear whether this advantage will outweigh the additional complexity of the rigid wing, added aileron and an inflatable chamber that likely needs sensors and an onboard pump to maintain the overpressure needed for rigidity. The power for the pump will have to be provided too, either with a battery requiring changing or by turning one of the load-bearing cables into a conductor or by mounting a small generator on the wing itself. The complexities will multiply.

It's also clear that the automated flight control systems that both Makani and SkySails have built over the years are more of a gleam in TwingTec's eye at this point. All flying is done by a ground-based pilot with joysticks controlling the winches. Automated kiting when the wing is in the air isn't hard; stunt kiters can easily fly figure eights when blindfolded. But launching and landing when the wind isn't blowing even up in the sky is much more sophisticated, as is dealing with strongly variable winds.

Finally, the company seems yet to address that its kilometer-long cables and rigid wing introduce obstacles for land-based generation. Both Makani and SkySails are primarily focused on offshore wind farms as a primary model at present.

But it is early days. TwingTec has received 10,000 Swiss Francs from the Venture Kick start-up funding program, the first funding in a pipeline that could reach 130,000 Swiss Francs (about $140,000 USD) if they hit their marks. As their competition includes both Google and a firm which has successfully towed cargo ships with parafoil fabric kites, they have their work cut out for them.

Source: EMPA

View gallery - 9 images
3 comments
3 comments
Bob Stuart
I'd really like to integrate this with energy storage. The long power stroke is ideal for hauling tanks of water up an incline to replenish a hydro power reservoir. The kite and railway systems could work together to help with the flying chores. Electricity would be generated on demand at short notice, stabilizing the grid to help it use more solar, etc. There are even existing power stations to upgrade or revitalize, at a huge capital savings.
VirtualGathis
I like that the power generation system is actually on the ground so involves no conductive cabling up to the kites. My question is how does this facy system deal with the mile(s) wide exclusion zone needed in the event of failure?
Those cables will go somewhere if there is a failure. This would be at the least draping the nearby countryside. At worst causing mass chaos as they wrap around vehicle axles, short accross high voltage power lines. etc. so how will that be managed to avoid casualties without causing the installation to require a location so remote it will be unable to deliver power to its customers?
Will, the tink
Among all the other logistics that was mentioned, nothing was said about it being another obstacle to aircraft. Power lines (at much lower heights than this kite will fly) are required to have bright-colored balls at specified spacing along it's length along with published notification that the obstacle exists at a specified location. Towers and/or high buildings sport light beacons for the same reason.