A 1,292-square-foot power kite flies hundreds of meters above Mauritius’s sugarcane fields, pulling a ground generator with high-altitude winds
Mauritius is trying out a new way of getting electricity from the wind.
There is no giant turbine, no massive offshore installation. Instead, a large kite soars above the island’s cane fields, anchored to equipment on the ground.
The project has obtained approval to provide electricity to the island grid.
The Central Electricity Board confirmed the system was compatible with the grid and gave approval for electricity to be supplied into the island’s network.
But how can a kite help power a nation?
A new type of wind farm emerges
Mauritius Island could reduce its dependence on fossil fuels by capturing wind energy from the air.
SkySails Power Indian Ocean, a joint venture between Germany’s SkySails Power and IBL Energy Holdings of Mauritius, operates the installation. Its kite is 120 square meters, or about 1,292 square feet.
It flies a few hundred meters over the fields, where the winds are stronger and more steady than at ground level.
Mauritius is not merely the location for a technology demo.
The Central Electricity Board confirmed the system was compatible with the grid and gave approval for electricity to be supplied into the island’s network.
With that approval, the project moved from installation and testing to grid-connected operation.
The project was selected under a scheme by the Mauritius Renewable Energy Agency, which supports emerging renewable technologies.
The country has a target to produce 60% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Why look at the wind hundreds of meters up in the sky?
Tall towers are used on conventional turbines to catch stronger winds. Airborne wind systems go a different route, lifting a lightweight kite into higher air currents.
This approach could be a solution for remote islands where it is hard to install regular turbines.
SkySails employs a tether and a ground-based generator to transform the pull of the kite into electricity. The company refers to the Mauritius project in the SkySails Power section.
Other developers are working on similar concepts, including a proposed towerless wind plant in Norway that would use tethered kites.
The benefit is that it gives access to higher winds without having to build a conventional turbine tower. The technology has to be shown to be reliable, safe, and economically viable.
How the kite converts its flight into electricity
The system needs a repetitive flight pattern and a generator that stays on the ground.
The kite is guided in figure-eight loops by an automated control system. It builds up a strong pulling force and pulls a tether from a winched line as it moves through the wind.
That winch turns a generator that makes electricity. The kite does not require a generator or spinning blades.
As the tether reaches maximum extension, the system changes the position of the kite. It reduces the pull, and the winch can reel the tether back in.
In this phase of recovery, only a fraction of the energy generated during the pull-out is used.
Then the cycle starts again. The idea was also examined during earlier 600-kilowatt kite testing in Norway.
The kite generates electricity by pulling the tether out, then returns with significantly less energy and does it again.
The Mauritius system is found between 200 and 400 meters above sea level. SkySails says its tether can be as long as 800 meters.
Electricity can be fed into the grid, charge batteries, or be used on-site. For Mauritius, the project offers yet another option for electricity supply.
Airborne wind energy is still new and developing, and its long-term performance will determine if it truly is a practical alternative to conventional turbines.
Interesting possibilities lie ahead: harvesting even stronger winds without using up the existing landscape with towering structures.
Now the next wind farm can be found flying above the fields.
Bronwyn has over 20 years of experience in media, digital publishing, and storytelling as a journalist, content creator, and publishing editor. She writes about various niches and has a keen interest in science, technology, energy, and innovation.
