14 DAY TRIAL // The city of Fairbanks in Alaska will soon have a fairly peculiar contraption hovering over it, and some might find themselves wondering if what they're seeing is some weird and seriously oversized bird, or maybe a plane.
Much like in the “Superman” movies, such assumptions will be wrong. Still, the odd flying thing will not be a superhero either. Unless one likes to think about technologies that help harvest clean energy as saviors of the human race, that is.
Not to beat about the bush, the contraption that will soon set up camp in the skies over Fairbanks, Alaska is an airborne wind turbine developed by MIT startup Altaeros Energies.
Inhabitat informs that the installation is dubbed the BAT-Buoyant Airborne Turbine, and that it will serve to harvest wind power and roll out clean energy meant for about a dozen families in said part of Alaska who presently live off the grid.
The same source tells us that the wind turbine is to be filled with helium, and that this will help keep it at a height of about 1,000 feet (nearly 305 meters) from the ground.
Specialists with Altaeros Energy explain that, at this altitude, air currents are usually about five to eight times stronger than the ones documented at ground level. They expect that this will help boost the turbine's green energy output.
Information shared with the public says that this innovative turbine is to be installed as part of a project intended to test the viability of this new method of harvesting wind power.
Thus, the contraption is expected to remain airborne for about 18 months, during which researchers working with Altaeros Energies will test its design and collect data concerning how efficient this technology is in real-life conditions.
Interestingly enough, it would appear that the Alaska Energy Authority has high hopes that airborne wind turbines can help promote the use of renewables, especially in remote areas. Hence its decision to support this project with a $1.3 million (€0.94 million) grant.
The folks at Altaeros Energies say that, apart from producing clean energy and feeding it into the grid by means of cables, such airborne wind turbines can also serve to provide date coverage, cell service, and information concerning local weather conditions.
The MIT startup argues that, all things considered, installations such as the one bound to soon be deployed in Alaska would especially come in handy in isolated regions, disaster-stricken areas, and even remote military bases.