Is it a bird, is it a plane?

[Potemkin Villager]

I would be very interested to hear what others think of this project.

It is being 50% funded by the evil empire, or as Lord King calls them
"our friends in Europe". For some bizarre reason the wave energy test
centre in Orkney is involved,

https://www.nweurope.eu/projects/projec ... ion/#tab-5

Open the link and press the newsletter button to download a pdf.

Enjoy.

[Potemkin Villager]

Wow guys (and gals) 80 views and not a single comment!

Surely somebody must have an opinion on this cutting edge project?

[kenneal - lagger]

You have to look very carefully to find out what the thing is, PV. These kites/gliders have been proposed for years so it will be interesting to see how tre tests go. I suppose they have sent them to Orkney because there is a very good supply of wind and also if one of them "gets loose" there aren't too many people or ships to get in the way when it falls to earth.

[BritDownUnder]

OK - and don't forget that a lot of those 80 views were probably bots who are a bit more coy in giving their opinions. I just got back from working on a grid project and have a bit of time.

I had a quick look at the factsheet.

Constructive criticism.
- All the working parts are up in the air and not easy to maintain though it probably lands for that.
- The power density of this type of turbine is probably lower than a wind farm as each will need its own 'area' and not tangle its neigbour's cable.
- Normal wind turbine generators are very heavy - a 5MW nacelle with all the stuff weighs almost 100 tonnes. Will these be lighter and how?
- If on an island it may close the airspace to planes visiting the island - think barrage balloons.
- The tether and control system may be complex and expensive even more than a conventional wind turbine is.

Constructive suggestion
- Cover the 'wings' with solar panels to kill two birds with one stone.

Possible advantages
- Good for a windy isolated island like Fair Isle.
- Probably much easier and quicker to construct and commission than a convention wind turbine - on land anyway.

I'll leave the EU comments good or bad for others.

[Catweazle]

Here's a good explanation of the technologies.

https://airbornewindeurope.org/wp-conte ... -03-23.pdf

[adam2]

Sounds expensive, complicated and with a lot to go wrong.
The sort of research project loved by HMG as an alternative to doing something in the here and now.
Wind turbines are now a mature technology and we should be installing more of them, rather than endlessly searching for alternatives.

[Potemkin Villager]

Sounds expensive, complicated and with a lot to go wrong.
The sort of research project loved by HMG as an alternative to doing something in the here and now.
Wind turbines are now a mature technology and we should be installing more of them, rather than endlessly searching for alternatives.

This is pretty much exactly the conclusion I came to and thanks for all other comments as well.

I hadn't realised what a huge head of institutional steam, and number of PhDs, this infernal project has built up. I am still yet to
read any explanation as to how these gizmos are to be safely kept aloft and not crash to earth. The salient
qualities of the proposed test site in North Mayo is the abundance of wind and virtually total lack of people living there.
I would not be surprised if some of the folk working on it get seriously injured, if not killed, in trying to get these things to work.
Earthbound wind turbines, even quite small ones, can be quite dangerous but this is another league altogether.

A mechanical engineer friend of mine, with a long time experience of wind turbines, goes fishing regularly in this area
and will be keeping an eye on how things progress. His comment amounted to that it was not the sort of project he would want to touch
with the proverbial barge pole.