A massive energy kite being developed in California could be deployed for testing near Waimea by early next year.
Before the experimental device can begin spinning 1,100 feet above the ground, the Google-owned development company behind the initiative must receive clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration and a building permit from Hawaii County. Following a year of flight and testing, representatives of the R&D company Makani are hopeful that they’ll be closer to having a commercially viable product that is up to 50 percent more efficient at generating electricity than a conventional wind turbine.
“Our goal is to demonstrate safe and reliable operation,” project manager Alden Woodrow said.
The 85-foot airfoil with eight wind generation rotors — and the 50-foot tower from which it will be launched and controlled — is essentially finished, Woodrow said.
Makani had been hopeful it could launch the kite this past summer, but a team of researchers are still fine-tuning the technology. Meanwhile, a team here has done preliminary grading at the test site located five miles south of the Waimea Airport and has made improvements to an access road to the site.
The device loops in the sky at the end of a tether in a motion that allows the kite to mimic the most energy efficient part of a conventional wind turbine blade — the tip — without the need for the massive concrete, steel and fiberglass infrastructure of a conventional windmill.
The energy generated will feed down the 1,400-foot carbon fiber tether, which will be attached to a giant drum used to reel the kite in and out. The top of the kite’s loop will reach twice the height of a conventional turbine.
When the winds die, electricity can be reversed back up the tether to the rotors, which will then spin to control the craft’s descent, Woodrow said.
The Makani research team located in Alameda has been developing the kite system for the past year in hopes of generating 600 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 300 homes. Research that included testing of prototypes a third of the size of this one has been ongoing for nine years.
Makani has laid out its plans to local groups on the Big Island, including pilots last year who wanted to make sure every measure possible is taken to make sure the kite and tether are visible.
Woodrow said on Thursday the kite will be lighted, the tether will be marked for visibility and that the FAA may provide other guidance for how the kite’s visibility should be enhanced.
“We’re waiting for a determination of no hazard from the FAA,” Woodrow said. “We have to go through the same regulatory process that a wind turbine goes through.”
The company would like to operate the kite around the clock and is working with the FAA to gain clearance to fly the machine at night, Woodrow said. The project will be constantly monitored by at least one staff member at all times.
Makani chose the stretch of Parker Ranch land for several reasons. North Hawaii’s powerful winds are a world-class resource for power generation, Woodrow said.
The open land is favorable for testing, and Hawaii’s high energy costs and its drive for renewable sources were also draws, he said.
Woodrow described the project also as “building roots in a place where we have the potential to have an impact long-term.”
The company did early testing of small energy kites on Maui in 2008, using prototypes similar to kite surfing kites.
Email Bret Yager at byager@westhawaiitoday.com.
