RWE Renewables and SkySails Power harness high-altitude winds for innovative power generation
RWE Renewables GmbH and SkySails Power GmbH have high-flying ambitions. They are planning to fly a 120 m² kite to a height of up to 400 meters above ground to utilise high-altitude winds for generating electricity. The two companies have now entered a collaboration agreement on this pilot project. RWE is purchasing an innovative airborne wind energy system with an output of up to 200 kilowatts from the Hamburg-based company. RWE Renewables will operate the SkySails Power system and evaluate the technology during the three-year pilot project. Currently, suitable locations in Germany are being assessed.
“The light compact design of airborne wind energy systems means that the impact on people and the environment is minimal. The systems work very quietly, practically have no visible effect on the landscape and barely cast a shadow”, explains Stephan Wrage, CEO of SkySails Power GmbH. He believes that these benefits can further increase acceptance for wind energy systems. Stephan Wrage: “This makes our SkySails technology an exciting alternative to traditional renewable wind power generation.”
“I am delighted that we are putting this innovative, environmentally friendly technology into operation for the first time,” says Katja Wünschel, COO Wind Onshore & Photovoltaic Europe & Asia-Pacific at RWE Renewables. “It has the potential for onshore as well as offshore use and to complement conventional wind power turbines in this way.” Sven Utermöhlen, her colleague on the RWE Renewables Management Board with responsibility for Wind Offshore Global, adds: “This pilot project is not just intended to expand the decentralised supply of energy from renewable sources, it also has great potential in terms of helping RWE to make its power generation completely climate-neutral by 2040.”
