High-Flying Winds: More energy, cheaper costs

Exploiting energy produced by winds at an altitude higher than 500m is very promising: seemingly high-flying winds, strong and constant, allow to get a 33% energy increase and a significant cut of wind energy costs.

This is the concept stressed by Giacomo Arsuffi, ENEA expert on wind energy, during the hearing hold by the Standing Committee on Economic Activities of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Arsuffi reported on the state of the art of high-altitude (over 500 m) wind energy, obtained by exploiting tropospheric winds. Actually, wind energy is currently produced at an altitude of 200m or lower.

“Exploiting tropospheric winds seems promising”, said Arsuffi “since high-flying winds are stronger and constant, and a 10% increase in wind speed allows to get 33% more energy and cheaper wind energy costs, down to almost one third of the cost per MWh for wind tower plants. Technologies exploiting tropospheric winds are still under testing and need to be fostered by economic investments to be launched on the market”, concluded the ENEA expert.

Source: Giacomo Arsuffi, ENEA giacomo.arsuffi@enea.it

Energia dal vento. Eolico e Green Economy: un binomio possibile?