[ExI] New Wave Energy wants to put power plants in the sky

[Eugen Leitl]

http://www.gizmag.com/new-wave-energy-creates-aerial-power-plants/29849/

New Wave Energy wants to put power plants in the sky

By Lakshmi Sandhana

November 25, 2013

A model of a high altitude aerial power plant that harvests both solar and
wind energy and beams it wirelessly to the ground. (Image: New Wave Energy
UK)

Image Gallery (4 images)

Harvesting power from the wind and the sun is nothing new. We've seen flying
wind turbines and solar power plants that aim to provide clean renewable
energy. UK-based New Wave Energy has a bolder idea in the works. The company
plans to build the first high altitude aerial power plant, using networks of
unmanned drones that can harvest energy from multiple sources and transmit it
wirelessly to receiving stations on the ground.

Each drone in a network can power itself and also deliver 50 kW of usable
energy (Image: N...Four rotors and wind turbines are included in the design
(Image: New Wave Energy UK)A close up of the model with a flat solar panel
for generating solar energy (Image: New Wa...  The patent-pending technology
aims to have drone networks hover in the sky harvesting both solar and wind
power, while moving about at low speeds to keep track of the sun. The drones
will operate at high altitudes where the winds are more stable and there's
minimal chance of weather patterns or aircraft interfering with them.

"At 50,000 ft (15,000 m) there is very little air traffic and biodiversity,
unless you go over the Himalayas," company director Michael Burdett tells
Gizmag. "Implementing a system in these conditions will not obstruct any
existing systems."

Each 20 x 20 m (65 x 65 ft) drone will have four rotors, multiple wind
turbines and a flat base for generating solar power. It'll be able to power
itself with the harvested energy and generate an additional 50 kW that can be
transmitted wirelessly to the ground. Rectenna arrays installed inland or on
offshore installations would receive the electromagnetic waves and convert
them into usable power.

Burdett estimates that an aerial power plant containing thousands of drones
could produce around 400 MW of power, enough to power over 205,000 homes
annually. Designed to be easy to update, the drone networks can be outfitted
with more efficient generators as they become available. A drone power plant
capable of delivering so much power, the company says, would be pretty large,
around twice the size of an offshore wind farm such as the Robin Rigg farm in
the Solway Firth, Scotland.

Though it sounds quite ambitious, there have been a number of advances in
drone design and technology that help give an aerial power plant some weight.
Solara's UAV can stay airborne for up to 5 years and Quadrotor's UAVs are
able to charge devices wirelessly. Getting a power-producing drone network
airborne also offers other benefits, such as being able to link small aerial
power plants to each other wirelessly to deliver large amounts of energy
reliably.

The company states that it will be able to handle energy output within a
drone network as efficiently as managing data in an information network. An
aerial power plant also makes it easier to provide power to remote locations
with long range transmissions, or help out immediately in the event of an
emergency or a natural disaster.

"The time for a response in times of natural disaster depends on the drone's
current location and flight speed once the final form is specified," Burdett
says. "Using smaller drones of 50 to 100 kW will reduce implementation times.
It would be feasible to produce a system to operate at lower altitudes if
required, one which could be transported with other equipment for relief
efforts and implemented instantly."

Aside of the obvious advantage of requiring little or no land space, the
drone networks would be invisible to the naked eye making it realistic for
them to be installed anywhere. The company aims to make use of the
unpopulated airspace over the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Ocean first.
Burdett states that New Wave Energy will be able to deliver energy around the
clock to many different parts of the world using solar, wind,
thermoelectrics, infrared and visible spectrum rectennas.

It took around two years for New Wave Energy UK to develop the technology.
The company plans to start a Kickstarter campaign to raise around £300,000
(US$500,000) and expects to have a working prototype within 6 months of
receiving funding.

Source: New Wave Energy UK

About the Author

Lakshmi Sandhana When Lakshmi first encountered pig's wings in a petri dish,
she realized that writing about scientists and imagineers was the perfect way
to live in an expanding mind bubble. Articles for Wired, BBC Online, New
Scientist, The Economist and Fast Company soon followed. She's currently
pursuing her dream of traveling from country to country to not only ferret
out cool stories but also indulge outrageously in local street foods. When
not working, you'll find her either buried nose deep in a fantasy novel or
trying her hand at improvisational comedy.   All articles by Lakshmi Sandhana