Airborne Wind Generator Design

Possibly the simplest way to put a wind mill into the air. Lifted by balloon, any type of balloon, and consisting of a simple frame and a propeller. I insist on using Hydrogen rather than helium due to the low cost of Hydrogen generated on site and the lack of any hydrogen stored on the ground. As long as the balloon can't sink onto other property or your own home - this means you need a lot of open land around it - then who cares if it comes down. Put tape on the leak and refill it and you are back in business. I don't know if the inflated propellers are practical but they should be if you reinforce them with a metal rod and use wires to provide the strength as shown. The generator needs to be high voltage and low current to reduce the size of the wire needed to bring the power to the ground. I understand that flying a wind mill at 300 feet can dramatically increase the available power from the wind. You can see an original copy (without all the distortion) at http://www.lizardfire.com/BalloonVideo/ both AVI and mpg are available. The AVi is higher quality.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• wind mill
• airborne wind generator
• wind power
• balloon

[wware]

They both look like good designs to me. But I'm curious, how was the cylindrical red balloon failing? Had you built a prototype and been unable to get it to work? My worry with the second design is the total weight of the frame. Even with very light materials, it's still a lot of pieces.

[JOHNINAUSTIN2004]

@wware Hey, thanks. Use hydrogen. generate it on the ground and send a continuous supply to the balloon by a tiny plastic tube. Hydrogen is free and not a danger since none is stored on the ground. The red design needs specially shaped balloons which are hard to make or repair.

[joefaust777]

You are invited to join and annouce your concepts in group AirborneWindEnergy in the Yahoo space. And participate in AWEIA International

AWEIA org

And have fun gathering at EnergyKiteSystems net

[wware]

A helium lift balloon will need refreshing because helium leaks out of everything, even mylar. If the wind is consistent, maybe you can use some electricity from the generator to run a heater for a hot air balloon.