Thanks! The size we're targeting now is a system of two kites on one tether, each with a wing span of 20 m and weighing 1650 kg. This would generate around 1 MW.
The largest off-shore wind turbines right now have 80 m blades and generate 8 MW at a weight of 1300 tonnes (excluding foundation), but the main reason they are so large is economies of scale, off-shore wind turbines are expensive.
Kite wind turbines do not have to be as large to be economical.
But with a traditional wind turbine with 80 meter long blades, the total "footprint" for each one is roughly a 160 meter wide circle. In principle you don't need much space between those circles in a bigger wind farm (but because of turbulence and the wind shadow there usually is).
What is your "wind farm" model? Reserving a kilometer wide circle for each kite pair does not really seem feasible even off-shore.
Grustaf|9 years ago
The largest off-shore wind turbines right now have 80 m blades and generate 8 MW at a weight of 1300 tonnes (excluding foundation), but the main reason they are so large is economies of scale, off-shore wind turbines are expensive.
Kite wind turbines do not have to be as large to be economical.
jo909|9 years ago
What is your "wind farm" model? Reserving a kilometer wide circle for each kite pair does not really seem feasible even off-shore.