Slow Chat III

Yes. However SkySails’ kite generated more than 100 kW : this is much more than the needs of a single home. So the AWE problem is not “making small then big power”. It takes a lot for AWE to become competitive, if it is possible: costs, control requirements, reliability, land use etc.

To get back fully to the topic, NPWs have an advantage: they pull very hard in a narrow flight window. I will explain why it is an advantage.

The flying window is a bit smaller, partly because the NPW’s need a certain angle of attack to stay inflated properly but also because they weigh so little that there is no momentum in the kite that helps to expand its flying window when in flight.

The smaller flight window is presented here as a disadvantage. But I think that for AWE use it is an advantage because the trajectory of a kite crossing the flying window greatly exceeds the useful swept area. Moreover in yo-yo mode it is preferable to make U-turns at the limit of the flight window, during short reel-in depower phases. Therefore a NPW wastes less space, and we can increase the density in a kite farm.

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