More on High-Altitude Wind

I’ve been in touch with the fellow in Italy I mentioned earlier on my piece about high-altitude wind power, in which I expressed concern that the levelized cost of energy for his concept (KiteGen) wouldn’t be competitive with other energy resources.  I had forgotten Italy’s passion for small wind (defined as anything under 60 KW) and their willingness to put their Euros where their mouths are.

He writes: 

The best region to develop in Italy now is Calabria (the “toe” of the “boot” – pictured above). Last year we have installed there some 20 small turbines (ranging from 60 to 200 kw). Selected sites have a certified windiness over 6 m/s for a capacity of 2.400 hours per year.

The Italian government incentives for small wind are the highest in Europe (0,263 € per Kw) and are guaranteed for 20 years. Surface rights are locked for a longer time ranging from 25 to 35 years leaving time for residual production or even repowering options if economically viable.

Again, I had forgotten that enormous feed-in tariff.  The PTC (production tax credit) for wind in the U.S. (when it exists at all) is about $0.02/KWh; theirs is almost exactly 15  times larger.

That really does change everything.  Maybe some form of high-altitude wind system makes sense after all. But which one?  Here’s the Google Images result.  Lots of choices there.

Also, the coast of Calabria (see below) is densely populated (as it has been since the ancient Romans – see below), and thus high-altitude solutions may work aesthetically, where terrestrial turbines would not.