AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY SYSTEM

SUBMITTED BY
ANKIT PANGHAL
 CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 HISTORY
 LAYOUT OF AWES
 CONCEPTS FOR EXTRACTING HIGH ALTITUDE WIND
ENERGY
 SOME IMPORTANT TERMS WHICH IS USED IN AWES
 CLASSIFICATION OF AWES
 ADVANTAGE OF AWES
 DISADVANTAGE OF AWES
 APPLICATION OF AWES
 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION
• Wind is a clean, renewable energy source.
• Airborne Wind Energy System (AWES) is a high altitude
energy extraction technology.
• Normally the wind turbine work at low altitude (below 400
feet), but at low altitude wind has low speed and is non-
steady.
• But the AWES work at higher altitude (600-1000 feet), and
at higher altitude wind has high velocity and is turbulence
free.
• At high altitude wind is more persistent, so capacity factor
for wind turbine can increase[1].
HISTORY

 Miles L. Loyd proposed and analyzed an

efficient AWES in his work "Crosswind Kite
Power" in 1980.
 The first work aimed at evaluating the potential
of AWES as a renewable energy resource has
been presented by Archer and Caldeira in 2009.
 A balloon concept developed by Magenn
Power Inc. namely Magenn Air Rotor System.
 Airborne wind turbines proposed by Sky Wind
Power, Joby Energy and Makani Power[2].
LAYOUT OF AWES
CONCEPTS FOR EXTRACTING
HIGH ALTITUDE WIND ENERGY

 Generally stronger and more persistent wind is

obtained at higher altitudes[3].
 The concepts for extracting energy from high
altitude wind can be categorized according to
the position of the electrical generator as
a) Groundgen concept
b) Flygen concept
GROUNDGEN CONCEPT :-
The “groundgen” concept consists a generator kept at
ground level is connected to a suitable rotating mechanism
such as cable drum which is linked to a tethered airfoil or
power kite[4].

Fig.1 Groundgen Concept[4].

FLYGEN CONCEPT :-
In the “flygen” concept, the propeller turbine on the flying
device or the flow induced rotational motion of the complete
device drives on-board generators from where the electrical
energy is transmitted to the ground by a conductive tether[4].

Fig.2 Flygen Concept[4].

SOME IMPORTANT FORCES
WHICH IS USED IN
AERODYANAMIC FORCE ( ):
AWES
 Aerodynamic force is exerted on a body by the air (or some
other gas) in which the body is immersed, and is due to
the relative motion between the body and the gas. It is having
two components lift force and drag force[1].
= +

LIFT FORCE:
 The lift force is acting perpendicular to the body surface.
DRAG FORCE:
 Drag force acting in effective wind’s direction[1].
CLASSIFICATION OF
AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY
 Ground-Base Power Generation
 On-Board Power Generation
 Multiple Wing System
 Lighter Than Air System

1. GROUND-BASE POWER GENERATION

 Basically it generate the power based on groundgen concept
 It does not need high voltage electrical power transmission via the
tether
 Directly uses the strong tether tension to unroll the tether from a
drum, and the rotating drum drives an electric generator
 Fig.3: Ground based power generation[5]

As both the drum and generator can be placed on the ground, we call
this concept ground-based generation or traction power generation.
For continuous operation; one has to periodically retract the tether.
 Two phase are there, power production phase is also called reel-out
phase, and the retraction phase or reel-in phase[5,6].
 This allows one to reel in the tether with a much lower energy
investment than what was gained in the power production phase.

Fig.4: Reel In Reel Out Phase[6].

2. On-Board Power Generation
 In an On-Board Power Generation, electrical energy is
produced on the kite or balloon and it is transmitted to the
ground via a special rope which carries electrical cables.
 On-Board Power Generation produces electric power
continuously while in operation except during take-off and
landing maneuvers in which energy is consumed.
 Among On-Board Power Generation it is possible to find
cross wind systems and non-cross wind systems depending on
how they generate energy[5].
On-Board Power Generation[5]
3. MULTIPLE WING SYSTEM
 Due to the fact that tether drag is a significant obstacle to high
gliding numbers it would be beneficial to have short tethers.
 On the other hand, a long tether is needed to reach high
altitudes.
 For this reason, some concepts use multiple kites and decouple
the two roles of the tether by introducing two sorts of tether:
first, a primary tether that allows the AWE system to reach
altitude, and second, two or more secondary tethers that are
attached to the end of the primary tether, and connect it with
the kites, which are attached at their ends.
 The first description of such a system, that was not yet built,
can be found in the patent with on-board generation[7].
• This configuration allows the kites to loop fast around the
attachment point between the two tethers.

Fig 5: Multiple Wing System[7]

4. Lighter Than Air System
 While most airborne wind energy systems rely on
aerodynamic lift in one form or the other in order to keep the
system airborne, a few systems rely on aerostatic lift to stay
aloft, i.e. the airborne part of the system is lighter than air.
 The advantage is that they can stay airborne in the absence of
wind indefinitely, and without power consumption.
 They also need a considerable volume to compensate the
weight of the rest of the airborne system – this volume is
typically filled with Helium.
 Two of the lighter than air systems that have been realized in
recent years, the systems by Magenn power and Altaeros
Energies[8].
Fig 6: Magenn Airborne Wind Power[8]
ADVANTAGE OF AIRBORNE
WIND ENERGY SYSTEM
 Deliver time-averaged output much closer to its
rated capacity
 Can be placed closer to demand centres,
reducing transmission line costs and
transmission line loses
 Can operate in wind speeds between 5 – 65
mph
 can be raised to higher altitudes without having
to build an expensive tower
 can be easily moved to different locations
DISADVANTAGE OF AIRBORNE
WIND ENERGY SYSTEM

 Bad weather in the form of thunder and lightning strikes

pose very serious risk to the destruction of any airborne
device.
 No power is generated if the device is retracted during
bad weather.
 Safety hazard as the airborne devices and power cables
may become detached or damaged falling to the ground.
 Kites and wings must be light and durable to fly in the
high altitude winds.
 Electrical energy losses in the long conducting cable
from the airborne generating system to the ground.
APPLICATION OF AIRBORNE WIND
ENERGY SYSTEM
 Can be used off-grid for cell-towers, exploration equipment,
communities, farms and factories
 Can be rapidly deployed to disaster areas for power to
emergency and medical equipment, water pumps, and relief
efforts
 Wind farm deployment
 For military purpose
 In developing nations where infrastructure is limited or non-
existent it can easily provide electricity
CONCLUSION
 High altitude wind energy is currently a very promising
resource for the sustainable production of electrical energy.
The amount of power and the large availability of winds that
blow between 300 and 10000 meters from the ground suggest
that Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWESs) represent an
important emerging renewable energy technology. In the last
decade, several companies entered in the business of AWES,
patenting diverse principles and technical solutions for their
implementation.
 In the next years, a rapid acceleration of research and
development is expected in the airborne wind energy sector.
Several prototypes that are currently under investigation will
be completed and tested.
REFRENCES
[1] C.L. Archer and K. Caldeira, “Global Assessment of High-Altitude Wind Power,”
Energies Vol.2, pp. 307–319, May2009.
[2] M. Ahmed et al., “Power Maximization of a Closed-orbit Kite Generator System,” 50th
IEEE Conference on Decision and Control and European Control Conference (CDC-
ECC) Orlando, FL, USA, December 12-15, 2011.
[3] F. Lorenzo, “High-Altitude Wind Power Generation,” IEEE Transactions on Energy
Conversion, Vol. 25, No. 1, March 2010.
[4] S. Roland, “Kiting for Wind Power,” Wind Systems, No. 7, pp. 36-43, 2012.
[5] Lansdorp et al. ,“Towards Flight Testing of Remotely Controlled Surfkites for Wind
Energy Generation,” AIAA Paper 2007-6643 In Proceedings of the AIAA Atmospheric
Flight Mechanics Conference and Exhibit, Hilton Head, SC, USA, Aug. 20–23,2007.
doi: 10.2514/6.2007-6643
[6] Williams et al.,“Modeling and Control of a Kite on a Variable Length Flexible Inelastic
Tether,” AIAA Paper 2007-6705 In Proceedings of the AIAA Modeling and Simulation
Technologies Conference and Exhibit, Hilton Head, SC, USA, Aug. 20–23 2007.doi:
10.2514/6.2007-6705
[7] P.R. Payne and C. McCutchen, “Self-Erecting Windmill.” US Patent US 3,987,987,
issued 26 Oct 1976
[8] B. Lansdorp and W.J. Ockels, “Comparison of concepts for high-altitude wind
energy generation with ground based generator,” Paper presented at the 2nd China
International Renewable Energy Equipment and Technology Exhibition and
Conference, Beijing, China, 25–27 May 2005
THANKYOU