Power merry-go-round: a rendered view of KiteGen. View Slideshow View Slideshow Researchers in Italy have high hopes for a new wind-power generator that resembles a backyard drying rack on steroids. Despite its appearance, the Kite Wind Generator, or KiteGen for short, could produce as much energy as a nuclear power plant. Here's how it works: When wind hits the KiteGen, kites spring from funnels at the ends of poles. For each kite, winches release a pair of high-resistance cables to control direction and angle. The kites are not your Saturday-afternoon park variety but similar to those used for kite surfing -- light and ultra-resistant, capable of reaching an altitude of 2,000 meters.
Power merry-go-round: a rendered view of KiteGen. View Slideshow View Slideshow
Researchers in Italy have high hopes for a new wind-power generator that resembles a backyard drying rack on steroids. Despite its appearance, the Kite Wind Generator, or KiteGen for short, could produce as much energy as a nuclear power plant.
Here's how it works: When wind hits the KiteGen, kites spring from funnels at the ends of poles. For each kite, winches release a pair of high-resistance cables to control direction and angle. The kites are not your Saturday-afternoon park variety but similar to those used for kite surfing -- light and ultra-resistant, capable of reaching an altitude of 2,000 meters.
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I found this to be extremely interesting. I am an alternative power buff and this really caught my eye.
I was amazed to see how much power could be generated with a kite, but I don't see how they could sustain this with just ripstop nylon.
A commenter thought the title said kitten power, so for shits and giggles here's what generating kitten power would look like.