Flying wind farms

[YankeyMCC]

This article is the first I've heard of this and I only skimmed it quickly but thought I'd post it here and see what others here had to add or at least present it as something I'm sure many here will find interesting at least.

(snip)
IF IT ever seems windy where you live, be thankful you do not live 10km up in the air. At that height, the jet-stream winds blow stronger and more constantly than ground level winds, carrying up to a hundred times more energy.

So, just as oil companies are drilling deeper and in more remote locations in search of new reserves, pioneer wind-power engineers are looking higher in the sky for new sources of energy. Conventional turbines will not take them there—the highest to date is just over 200 metres tall. So they are trying to invent a whole new technology for harvesting wind: electricity generators that fly.
(snip)

(snip)
Mr Shepard estimates these rigs could produce power for as little as two cents a kilowatt hour. That is cheaper than the three to five cents conventional energy generation costs. It is an attractive idea, but a flying generator is difficult thing to build—and there is a limit to how helpful existing helicopter technology will be. Aircraft require maintenance after a few days of operation, if not sooner. To operate cost-effectively, wind turbines will need to keep turning for many months without upkeep.
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(snip)
Any promise of such cheap energy has to be treated with scepticism, and all these projects are still a long way from the full-scale test rigs needed to prove they will succeed. No-one denies that it will be hard to build a flying generator that can make money. However, the political impetus behind renewable energy is growing and space is limited at ground level. Perhaps it is time for the wind power industry to reach for the sky.
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http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8952080

[whistle]

1. How pratical would it be to biuld structures like the WTC Twin Towers

...which would be open wind generators or turbines to vitually catch all air movements including updrafts downdrafts and cross currents? Just curious if engineers have determined how feasible these might be

[skids]

2. You mean like the Bahrain World Trade Center?

http://images.google.com/images?q=bahrain+world+trade+center&hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&um=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Some similar ideas ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=82622&mesg_id=82622

[Dogmudgeon]

4. I'm waiting for the flying dam

:big_ol'_honkin'_grin:

--p!