[{"command":"settings","settings":{"ajaxPageState":{"theme":"hm_theme","theme_token":"QX4xS-1V4kpcnBT1NJhTcEFDiOI3Qq_3jUr5kTsm9h0","libraries":"eJwDAAAAAAE"},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"form_action_p_pvdeGsVG5zNF_XLGPTvYSKCf43t8qZYSwcfZl2uzM":true},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"2af85631393b514cbde3779a1f71d92618d53b94b54ea1960d28b2e2d121ff12"}},"merge":true},{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6097\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EGiant kites on the horizon as energy researchers look skywards\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt ground level, wind does not blow at a consistent speed, but at a height of 1 000 metres or more winds blow at a speed of 10-12 metres per second almost everywhere, all of the time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In principle all electricity generation could come from high-altitude wind,\u2019 said Professor Moritz Diehl, who leads the European Research Council-funded HIGHWIND project. \u2018I believe that high-altitude wind power has good potential in Europe.\u2019 \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Even if they are only used for 600 hours a year they will still be cheaper than other renewable energy sources.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EMarcello Corongiu, Coordinator, KITVES\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt present, one of best options is to use kites \u2013 the strong winds pull the kites, which are attached to the ground by long, strong, high-resistance cables. Each kite has two lines which are fed in and out with winches and are attached to alternators to produce electricity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Diehl and his team are developing computer simulations and mathematical models to determine which kite technologies would work best \u2013 soft wings, rigid wings, or fixed kite wings with wind turbines on them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFurther insight into the potential of kite technology is also coming from the engineering research and development organisation Sequoia Automation of Turin in Italy, which is testing a prototype kite generator under its KiteGen brand. This generator could produce the same amount of energy as a wind farm with four turbines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology, which includes a more than 100 metres squared wing and a computerised control system, was developed specifically to help power ships as part of the EU-funded KitVes project, which finished in 2013. The researchers are now building on this knowledge to develop kites that can generate energy from a fixed point on land.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWing sensors\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe control system uses sensors on the kite\u0027s wings which continually take measurements so that the computers can chart the best course through the sky to take advantage of prevailing winds. These sensors are so far off the ground that they needed their own small wind generators to be designed to power them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe engineers at Sequoia Automation believe that they could have a commercial product ready in the next few years, and that kites could become an important source of cheap energy. The challenge will be to identify enough\u0026nbsp;sites where the kites can fly without affecting aircraft, although there are already no-fly routes, such as over nuclear power stations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We expect the electricity generation costs of the kites to reduce to EUR 10 per megawatt hour,\u2019 said Marcello Corongiu, the coordinator of KITVES. \u2018Even if they are only used for 600 hours a year they will still be cheaper than other renewable energy sources.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-swld-u-q-gmoy25rn-honroou6v2prmowosygbr4dtu\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-swlD_U-q-gmOY25rn-HoNrooU6v2PrMOWOSyGbr4DtU\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]