Energy Magazine February 2015 | Page 21

Makani ’ s turbine flies about 1,000 ft . off the ground .
goal is the same , the methodology couldn ’ t be more different .
The project is taking place in a small plot of land on the Big Island just south of Waimea . Smaller prototypes of the wind kite have already been tested , though none of them match the size of the current one .
UK Sales Director for Google Peter Fitzgerald said the costs of renewable energy could be reduced because the turbines don ’ t require poles like traditional ones would .
“ You have to spend a lot of money on steel and concrete to build these massive turbines and you can only do that in about 15 per cent of the world where the wind is fast enough ,” he said , adding that the new tethered turbines would get around these restrictions .
The kite flies about 1,000 ft . off the ground and has the generation potential to power 300 homes .
Print Your Own Turbine With accessibility a large part of the design of these panels and turbines , 3D printing seems like a logical direction for the industry to head towards .
Omni3D has developed a printable wind turbine that can be used on a
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