The Technical and Economic Potential of Airborne Wind Energy

TL;DRAbstract

In this thesis, a methodology is developed, to assess the feasibility of airborne wind energy. A\nparticular concept called pumping kite generator (PKGs), is analyzed. Previous works on this\ntopic suggest that the cost of energy of such systems can be far lower than for conventional wind\nenergy, mainly because higher altitudes can be reached and material can be saved. \nThe cost of energy of pumping kite generator designs in the 1 to 2 MW range is calculated. For\nthis purpose, power curves are calculated by using a simple and quick performance simulation.\nThe power curves are then used to calculate the annual energy production based on either a\nRayleigh distribution or wind data from a weather model. For each component of the pumping\nkite generator, two cost functions are developed: A lower and a higher limit for the expected\ncost. Assuming a normal distribution of component costs, the probability density function for the\ntotal cost or total annual cost can be calculated as a f

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