A UK-based company aims to provide clean renewable energy using a network of unmanned drones to harvest solar and wind power above the surface of the planet, and beam it back wirelessly to the ground. New Wave Energys bold plan involves building aerial power plants by sending an army of power-generating drones into the sky. Each 20m by 20m power-generating drone has four propellers, multiple wind turbines and a flat base covered in solar panels. The drones will fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet to avoid air traffic and clouds that obscure the sun. According to New Wave Energy: The technology is tailored to operate at 50,000 ft where wind patterns are more reliable, solar production is greater and there is little or no interference from weather patterns. Each drone can produce up to 50kW of power by harnessing both solar and wind energy. The drones then use microwaves to beam the energy to antenna stations on the ground. The concept is not without its flaw, however. Each drone is only capable of generating 50kW of power, which means thousands of drones will need to be deployed in order to power large cities. The inventors say that the mobile aerial power plant could serve as a source of energy in times of crisis. An aerial power plant also makes it easier to provide power to remote locations with long range transmissions, company representatives told Gizmag. Or help out immediately in the event of an emergency or a natural disaster. New Wave Energy is seeking an investment of £300,000 to advance the project on crowdfunding site Kickstarter.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 12:40:56 +0000