Flying Electric Wind Generators

With high energy costs and the need for a widely available, cost efficient, renewable energy source that will not pollute the environment, many have looked to wind power in recent years. Nearly all the attention to date has gone to ground-based wind systems. However, wind power is not strongest in lower altitudes, because of constant turbulence caused by irregularities in the Earth’s surface. Ground-based wind-harnessing systems create noise pollution, an undesirable characteristic in populated regions. Bird strikes are also a problem with current ground based wind-systems. Traditional ground based systems only harvest about 30% of available energy. High altitude wind, on the other hand, can be harvested at 80% availability at 30,000 ft. These high altitude energy densities contain the potential energy to power about 100 Earths.

A description of a promising high-altitude Flying Electric Generator (FEG) configuration is given by a team of authors led by Australian inventor Brian Roberts [1]. Though low altitude demonstrations have been performed, at present, such a craft has never been built and operated at high altitude. We propose to construct and fly a working model, small and somewhat simplified, but still able to generate energy at high-altitude, returning it in usable form to the ground.



1. Roberts et al, “Harnessing High-Altitude Wind Power,” IEEE Transactions of Energy Conversion, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2007.

Adapted from "High-Altitude Flying Electric Generator Demonstration," BSA Troop 360, Manchester, CT, Ct Rivers Council