Kitepower Falcon - Model AWES-100 - Airborne Wind Energy System
Distributed generation for microgrids, especially on islands, relies on diesel to produce energy, which is expensive, polluting and difficult to supply. Considering these drawbacks, the urge to hybridize with renewables is growing. Solar electricity generation is nonetheless only available during day-light so it still requires a battery or diesel supplement during the night-time. Further, Photovoltaic power stations have high installation costs, huge space requirements and little resilience. Conventional wind turbines are not feasible either, due to high transport costs and heavy foundations. Kitepower systems use less material compared to other renewables, a core factor that also makes them mobile and resilient.
Details
Kitepower offers mobile wind energy that is easy to transport as well as install and only requires small ground space (m2). Kitepower systems can be integrated into existing microgrids, let it be batteries, solar, diesel or grid. Most importantly, Kitepower can deliver electricity +75% of the available time, a way higher efficiency factor than solar PV and conventional wind turbines.
The System Components
Ground Station (GS)
Converts the mechanical energy of the kite into electrical power and reels the kite in by using the generator as a motor.
- Width: 2,44 m
- Height: 2,60 m
- Length: 6,06 m
- Weight: 9.6 t
- IP Rating: IP64
- Lifetime: 25 years
- AC Power Output: 400 V AC 3 phase
- DC Power Output: 550-700 V
Tether
A Dyneema® line is used for a lightweight and strong connection between the kite and the GS.
- Type: UHMWPE Dyneema®
- Length: 358 m
Kite Control Unit (KCU)
Controls the roll, pitch, and yaw of the kite and takes care of the communications between the sensor unit placed on the kite and the GS.
- Wireless Range: 2 km
- IP Rating: IP65
Kite
Consists of a hybrid between an inflatable and a fixed fibre-glass skeleton, forming the best combination for a strong and lightweight wing.
- Size Flat: 60 m²
- Size Projected: 47 m²
- Force: 3 t
- Avg. Flight Speed: 110 km/h
The System Operation
Phase 1: Reel Out - Energy Production
Energy is generated during the first phase when the kite is flown in a cross-wind figure of eight pattern to achieve a high pulling force and reel out the tether from the winch in the ground station. During reel-out the Kitepower Falcon produces 130kW throughout 80% of the cycle’s time.
Phase 2: Reel In - Energy Consumption
When the max tether length is reached, the kite’s profile is adjusted in order to reel-in the tether with low force, using a small fraction of the energy produced in the previous phase. During reel-in the Kitepower Falcon consumes 20kW throughout 20% of the cycle’s time.
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