Are these inf latable turbines the windfarms of the future?
AN ENERGY firm has developed a floating inflatable wind turbine – which could be used in gusty, rural parts of Britain.
The helium-filled buoyant airborne turbine (BAT) is 30ft wide and can be floated at altitudes of more than 300ft.
The invention is designed to harness energy from strong winds high above the ground and then transmit the power generated down industrial-strength cables to a base.
It could also offer an alternative to the fixed steel and concrete turbine towers that many believe have blighted swathes of the Scottish countryside in recent years.
Several prototypes have now been developed and the first commercial turbines are about to be tested in Alaska.
During these trials, Altaeros Energies – an American green energy company – will seek to break the world record for the highest wind turbine ever deployed, by testing the prototypes at a height of 1,000ft.
Chief executive Ben Glass said: ‘The reason high-altitude winds are worth going after is simple – there’s just a lot more of it.
‘Winds between 1,000 and 2,000 feet above the ground are on average five to eight times more powerful than the winds that you get on the ground.’
Ryan Holy, Altaeros’s business development manager, said: ‘ We are looking at remote and rural locations first, and any region that is suffering from high electricity costs, as our product can give that customer more energy independence and lower their price.
‘So it could be some parts of Scotland – or any of the islands that have to ship their fuel in.’
Graham Lang, chairman of antiturbine group Scotland Against Spin, said: ‘This is exactly the innovative experimental renewable technology our Scottish companies should be at the forefront of.’
Scottish Enterprise has already held talks with the firm about bringing the turbines to Scotland. Joss Blamire, s enior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: ‘Technological innovations have made the renewables industry the success it is today, and it is vital that we keep inventing in order to bring down costs and ensure that as many people as possible take advantage of the benefits renewables offer.’
Households have been handed around £4million to help them generate their own green energy.
The fund gives people access to interest-free loans of up to £10,000 for a range of renewable technologies such as a wind turbine or a solar water heating system.
First Minister Alex Salmond said: ‘There has never been a better time to save energy and go green.’