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After a Shaky Start, Airborne Wind Energy Is Slowly Taking Off - Yale e360

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Numerous companies are developing technologies, such as large kites, that can harvest wind energy up to a half-mile above ground. While still in its nascent stages, airborne wind power could potentially be used in remote locations or flying from barges far offshore.

An airborne wind turbine at the SkySails Power's pilot site in Klixbüll, Germany. Axel Heimken / picture alliance via Getty Images Look up over the white sand beaches of Mauritius and you may see a gigantic sail, much like the kind used by paragliders or kite surfers but the size of a three-bedroom apartment, looping figure-eights overhead. The sail isn’t a tourist attraction — it’s creating electricity for the power grid of this island nation off the coast of East Africa. Launched in December by German company SkySails Power , the massive wing is the world’s first fully autonomous commercial

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