What is a Floating Wind Turbine?
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … a floating wind turbine? As the United States gravitates to greener energy, one may be seeing more of these power-generating windmills that are suspended in the air. The floating wind turbine operates without a tower. Some propel in the air, much like a helicopter — its tether sending electricity to the ground. A tether is the line of material that connects the air apparatus to the ground, much like the string on a kite. The windmills can reach as high as 15,000 to 30,000 feet (4,572 to 9,144 meters) in the air to capture high-speed jet streams of wind. While some of these flying machines are kite-like or suspended like a helicopter, others resemble floating reeds. While private companies are racing to perfect the technology for floating wind turbines, the devices are not yet being used in the public sector. An ocean-based apparatus developed by StatoilHydro ASA has plans to launch in 2009 and would be the first to do so, according to the Associated
