Technical and Economic Assessment of Tethered Wind Energy Systems

Abstract

The wind energy existing at high altitude has been investigated as a potential energy resource in the United States. In terms of the average power density, it can be as high as 16 KW/m2 at northeastern U.S. sites such as New York, which can be compared to 0.5 KW/m2 , the maximum ground level value at the U.S. sites. For a lifting generation device, a VTOL concept, new to this type of TWES, which combines the fixed wing with helicopter technology was extensively studied. The cost of electricity (COE) with such a system was determined and found to be competitive to that of fossil fuel in the near future.