Google’s “Energy Kites” Projects Kicks Off

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Google is ramping up recruiting at Makani, hinting that the ambitious project to create “energy kites” that generate cheap wind power is moving closer to reality. The division has said that its experimental technology can produce 50% more energy with 90% less materials than traditional wind turbines, Business Insider reports.

Google acquired Makani in 2013, after investing $15 million in the startup several years before. Google has invested in a variety of other alternative energy projects, including solar facilities and wind farms, mainly in an effort to use green energy in its massive data centers, although Makani’s efforts haven’t been as broadly publicized as other moonshot projects like self-driving cars or Project Loon’s internet bearing balloons.

Makani’s “energy kites” are really not kites at all, but are plane-like machines tethered to ground stations. Rotors on the kite launch it high into the air, where it then starts to rotate, driving an on-board generator to produce electricity, which moves down its tether to a grid below.  The company’s effort is to show that it’s possible to use the same aerodynamic principles as conventional wind turbines, with lightweight electronics and smart software in place of massive amounts of steel.

Makani’s wind kites can reach higher altitudes than traditional wind turbines, which lets them access stronger and steadier winds to produce more energy. They also require less ground space, which makes them a more viable option than conventional wind turbines all around the world.

“Wind power has been a source of renewable energy for decades, but only 3% of the world’s power comes from the wind,” Makani writes on its website. “Incremental improvements to existing wind technologies are not enough to make clean energy globally significant.”