Bill Gates backs radical new wind energy design using track-based wings

American start-up Airloom Energy has unveiled a radical new wind energy generating technology that has caught the attention of Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Airloom Energy says it has developed an “ultra lost cost” wind energy system that is unlike any other and which seek to harness the power of wind using wings that are propelled along an elevated lightweight track

The 10-metre-tall wings speed across the track that can stretch anywhere from metres to miles, while 25-metre-tall towers are held in place by a patented bridling system.

Airloom has made some bold claims about the cost of the technology, saying its capital costs will be one quarter of those to build a traditional wind farm, and the levelized cost of energy will be one-third of that of traditional wind energy – as low as $US0.013/kWh.

The Wyoming-based company is currently operating a 50kW test device in its home state, but it says that a 2.5MW Airloom system could be transported in one standard tractor trailer.

“It can be configured high or low, short or long, to optimize siting, viewplane and usage, and does not require large concrete foundations in commissioning,” the company says.

“The decrease in overall weight and materials also means greatly reduced landfill impacts at the end of its use.”

Airloom Energy recently hired CEO Neal Rickner, who previously spent a decade at Google working on innovations such as the Makani energy kite – a technology co-founded by Australian engineer and electrification advocate Saul Griffith.

The technology was eventually shelved, and there have been numerous other attempts to rethink the way that wind energy is generated, but none have comes to much.

Still, Airloom has raised $US4 million in seed funding, led by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, to support further research and development of the test device.

“For decades, the wind industry has lowered the cost of energy production by scaling ever larger turbines,” said Carmichael Roberts, co-lead of the investment committee of Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

“Although this has been extremely successful in driving down overall costs, the approach now faces challenges in terms of both siting and cost of materials.

“Airloom’s unique approach can solve both these problems, opening new market opportunities for wind energy that will further drive down costs.”