[ExI] kite power?

[BillK]

On 6/19/09, Damien Broderick wrote:
>  Kites could power world 100 times over
>  Friday, 19 June 2009
>
>  SYDNEY: High-flying Kites could harness enough energy to power the world
> 100 times over, according to a survey of high-altitude winds.
>


The main problem I see with high-flying kites harnessing jetstream
windpower is that it reminds me of barrage balloons in WWII.
So these kites would have to be concentrated in defined areas that all
aircraft (commercial and private) would automatically avoid. And the
kites couldn't be too close together, to avoid the risk of cables
tangling. This restricts the number of kites that could be flown.

There are alternative kite-power systems using fans on kites flying at
much lower levels, but they miss out on the jetstream effect. And I
doubt whether the trouble would be worth it in comparison to a pole
above your house. Planning departments and Health and Safety
bureaucrats would probably go bananas at the thought of everybody
wanting to fly windpower kites above their houses.

BillK