Using an aerostat or a kite as a lifter of a regular wind turbine, by juxtaposing proven technologies?

[PierreB]

@PierreB

From the publication:

2 Simulation Environment
2.1 Overview
This study used a 6-degree-of-freedom simulation of Kitemill’s KM1 prototype. KM1 is a 20-kW groundgen system driven by a fixed-wing, vertical take-off-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicle with mass = 54 kg and wingspan = 7.5 m (see Figure 1).

See Figure 6 and the text just below, in 3.2:

In the 2.5 m/s reel-out case, peak power is achieved between 75 m radius (Point B) and 100 m (Point C).

@PierreB

Our results show that the rated power of 20 kW can be achieved at around 13.5 m/s wind speed.

This value could also be achieved with a wind turbine with a rotor diameter of 7.5 m (= KM1 wingspan), sweeping 44 m², power coefficient of 0.35, with the same wind speed of 13.5 m/s, using far less space.

Home Wind Turbine Power Output Calculator

It is certain that this AWES could capture much stronger winds a few hundred meters high, but a similar result could be achieved by suspending a wind turbine of the same diameter as the wingspan of KM1, to a kite or/and a balloon.