Kite power

[svetz]

Forbisher's recent post made me wonder about the state of self-flying kites/devices for wind generation, anyone playing around with these? Lot's of kites and parafoil kites on Amazon. Can any of those even fly themselves as wind conditions change?
Seems more ideal... a decorative kite overhead, noise far away, and of course power when the grid is out. Only those pesky trees and power lines to worry about.

Sound's like Shell has made some progress.

"Blimp" wind turbine, no self steering

Computer controlled glider perhaps?

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[svetz]

 

[svetz]

 

[Steve_S]

You would get much farther if you have Sandy Loam Soil and made up a 100'x100' "Earth Battery" compound which can provide 1.5V per electrode.
For those that think it does not work, guess what powered the first Telegraphs in the 1890's as well as other things, earth battery "compounds" were often located next to the train line / telegraph offices, who would use some of the water from the steam train tanks to moisten the soil.

With our metallurgy in 2021 this is being revisited once again with some very interesting & good results.

 

[svetz]

The cool thing about kite power is the suspension system is all under tension, can reach elevations far in excess of towers and so has a more stable and energetic wind force. Theoretically they could be used anywhere. But for now it's more a curiosity than a reality, due to practical problems (e.g., trees, powerlines, other kites). So, it's one of those things that works well in theory. In practice, well... might work on a boat at an empty anchorage. ...guess what powered the first Telegraphs in the 1890's as well as other things... No need to guess! It was the "Grove Cell", see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_cell. But, your're also right about the Earth battery, ref.