Wind energy

Technologies and Applications

Wind energy

The use of wind energy to generate electricity is among the most widely developed and most used renewable energy technologies, and is on the increase in more and more countries. Because of the economies of scale resulting from falling system costs in production and project development and the high natural potential, wind energy is becoming economically viable in more and more countries. A distinction is made in the wind energy sector between onshore, small wind and offshore turbines.

Onshore wind energy
Nowadays, onshore wind farms are often set up alongside or close to the coast. To achieve high yields, turbines were developed with high towers and long blades that allow for a large sweep area. Mountain tops or elevated positions are particularly suitable for generating wind energy. There is a wide range of wind power plants for all kinds of applications. Two technologies have been developed for the efficient conversion of wind energy into electricity: The gearless system and the classic drive type with variable rotation speed, gears and fast-running generator.

Grid-connected onshore wind power plants
Wind power plants are either grouped together in so-called wind farms or set up as single units, which normally feed their electricity directly into the available grid. When setting up wind farms, the main expense is the connection to the power grid, which includes cables to the overland grid, control units and transformer substations.

Advantages of onshore wind energy
Investment costs are lower than for offshore plants, which need to be positioned, cabled, installed, operated and maintained at sea, in some cases a long way from land. In addition, decentralised onshore electricity generation is carried out closer to centres of consumption, which requires less investment for grid expansion and operation.

Small wind turbines
So far, there is no consistent definition of a small wind turbine. The most common definitions are: The tower is not normally higher than 20 m, and the average capacity lies between 5 and 10 kW. According to IEC standard 61400-2:2006, small wind turbines are those with a maximum rotor area of 200 m², corresponding to a nominal power of about 50 kW at a voltage of below 1,000 volts AC or 1,500 volts DC. Germany’s Wind Energy Association (BWE) distinguishes between three types of small wind turbines: Micro wind turbines (up to 5 kW nominal output), Mini wind turbines (from 5 kW to 30 kW), Medium wind turbines (from 30 to 100 kW).
Small wind turbines are increasingly becoming an alternative for independent and self-sufficient electricity gen-eration. Great potential for this is seen particularly in developing and newly industrialising countries with low electrification rates. Small wind turbines can supply electricity as stand-alone systems or can easily be integrated into existing island networks or hybrid systems. According to a forecast by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), the accumulated installed capacity of small wind turbines could reach over 2 GW by 2020.
Advantages of small wind turbines in off-grid regions
In addition to supplying electricity for households, small wind turbines can also replace diesel generators and thus conserve fuel. Combined with other renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic, these turbines are especially suited for basic electricity supply in off-grid regions.

Offshore wind energy 
Offshore wind farms may partly replace conventional power stations in the long term because of the greater capacity utilisation as a result of the higher wind speeds at sea. The expected energy yields here exceed any of those on land by up to 100 per cent. Offshore plants have to be sited, cabled, installed, operated and maintained in deep water. The installation of an offshore wind farm is far more technically demanding than that of an onshore wind farm because of the foundations and a complicated grid connection. The construction stages are much more dependent upon the weather and are largely restricted to the period from April to November. In regular operation exposure to strong wind and waves, together with the effects of salty air pose particular challenges for the materials used. As a result, the system costs are significantly higher than those for onshore plants.

The hub height of a 5 MW offshore wind turbine is currently about 90 metres above sea level. The rotor diameter is approximately 125 m, while the rotor blades cover an area about the size of one and a half football fields. The nacelle is as large as a detached house and weighs up to 400 tons; an offshore wind turbine with a total weight of up to 1,000 tons weighs as much as 250 elephants.

Advantages of offshore wind energy
Offshore wind farms create new opportunities for more jobs, especially for specialised services such as those that focus on the existing requirements at sea. This can benefit economically disadvantaged coastal regions. Wind farms with several hundred megawatts of installed capacity deliver constant electricity and can replace large-scale power plants and provide system services such as frequency stabilisation. Offshore wind energy has low competition for the use of the area of water, since there is little potential for alternative applications.

KiteGen Venture

Founded in 2011, KiteGen Venture is the society aimed at the industrial and business development of the KiteGen technology. The natural evolution of an Italian research project, which aims at questioning all dogmas on renewable energies. Thanks to more than 40 international patents, KiteGen is ready to enter the global market, offering a unique and innovative solution to the increasing energy demand. Kite Gen Venture is run by a young and qualified team, motivated to transform this project into practice and to present it to the world.

THE CONCEPT: The KiteGen Technology is designed to provide an answer for the increasing need of energy production, proposing a new type of electric generation plant, based on a renewable source, suitable for any territory unlike the traditional wind turbines, at costs lower than fossil fuel generation plants, in direct competition with today’s conventional production (coal, oil or nuclear), and in the very near future in the GigaWatt class.

PATENTS: 40 international patents, Estimated EROEI of 375

HIGH ALTITUDE WINDS: The first real innovation of KiteGen lies in the choice of a high-performance energy source: the high altitude winds, a huge, virtually endless and almost universally available energy power, but still to be explored.

High altitude winds blow all around the globe between 500 and 10000 meters above the surface. Compared to normal winds at ground level, those streams are steadier, stronger and almost equally distributed around the earth’s surface. All these characteristics make the tropospheric winds a unique reservoir with a huge unexploited potential.

 EXAMPLE                           Traditional Turbines                   KiteGen

Height                                        80 m                                                     800 – 2000 m

Wind average speed               4,6 m/s                                                  7,2 m/s

Wind presence                        1550 hours/year                                 5000 hours/year

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Technology

Kitegen farm
THE HIGH – ALTITUDE WINDS . The first real innovation KiteGen lies in the choice of powerful energy source: the wind at high altitude, a huge reservoir of energy, inexhaustible, accessible to all, but yet to be explored. The energy source The high-altitude winds are blowing around the planet between 500 and 10,000 meters of altitude. Unlike those at low altitude, these currents are more constant, strong and almost uniformly distributed on the Earth’s surface. It is these characteristics make the tropospheric winds a single field, with a huge untapped potential. Moving away from the ground and the roughness of the land surface that hamper and affect the motion, the wind gradually increases speed, persistence and perseverance. At 80 meters above the ground, share accessible from the wind turbines of the latest generation, the average wind speed (in a site standard Italian) is 4.6 m / s and blows on average for 1550 hours / year; 800 meters above sea level at which it operates instead a central KiteGen, the wind reaches speeds of 7.2 m / s (the same site standard) and its power is almost four times greater than available conventional turbines. Moreover, in this higher altitude, the wind blows on average for 5000 hours / year. The consequence of all this is the possibility of obtaining much more energy and much lower costs compared to a wind turbine of equal power.
maquina kitegen2
KiteGen the system, the result of years of research and covered by over 40 international patents, implements the simple physical principle used by the dynamo to produce clean energy through a highly sophisticated technology, dynamic and lightweight. KiteGen Stem BENEFITS • No emission of CO2 • Exploitation of an unlimited energy source, constant and ubiquitous • Minimum visual and environmental impact • No infrastructure ad hoc request for the installation of machinery • Minimal energy loss • Low maintenance costs: management entirely to the ground facilitates the operations and ensures greater safety • Scalability: sites, farms, are designed according to the needs of energy production OPERATION One or more semi-rigid wings, driven by a complex system of sensors, actuators and radio signals, rising to heights between 600 and 2000 meters, where the strong and constant winds blow tropospheric. The wings are connected to the ground station via cables, made of composite material and, by means of them, a pulling force which actuates the alternators placed on the ground, thus generating electricity. When the ropes are wholly unrolled wings are guided in a configuration that offers the least resistance to the wind, and then rewound, bringing the wings at the minimum height, then start again the same movement up and down, as in a yo- yo. The generation of energy and the machineries that manage the entire system are on the ground, where there is a base of the shape similar to an igloo, a stem 20 meters long, to which are connected the cables and, at the end, l ‘ wing. The base is home to the heart of the system: the software manages the entire operation on the basis of data received from a network of sensors placed on the wing. In this manner the trajectories of flight can be controlled and directed to the maximum energy production, in accordance with the operating specifications of the machine and ensuring a condition of absolute safety. The cycle of energy production is divided then in two phases: Step 1. Generation: the flight of the wing in the wind generates a lift on the ropes, which sets in motion the rotation of pulleys, drums and alternators; 2. Recovery phase: reaching the maximum height and placed the wing on the condition of not having lift, alternators act as motors, rewinding the ropes until the altitude at which the flight attitude of the wing is reset and resumes the cycle of generation. The power consumption in this phase is equal to a fraction of that produced during the unrolling

THE PRODUTS

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KiteGen FARM : Site hosting one or more KiteGen Stem from the rated power of 3 MW each. The reduced dimensions of the machine (diameter of 12 m on the ground) and the weight (6 tons per MW) facilitate installation and contain costs. The high energy density for Km2 greatly reduces the consumption of land. A wind farm can then be sized from 3 to 300 MW or more, depending on the needs of energy production and the characteristics of the territory.

 

KITEGEN-CAROUSEL
KITEGEN – CAROUSEL: The solution that puts in cooperation KiteGen Stem more generators connected together in a carousel configuration. The flight of the entire set of wings is driven so as to rotate the carousel at a desired speed, thus allowing the actuation of the alternators. This configuration makes it possible to intercept large amounts of altitude wind in a single installation. The development of KiteGen Carousel will take place after the distribution of the generators of the type Stem ..
KITEGEN OFFSHORE
KITEGEN – STEM OFFSHORE: Configurazione dello stem singolo installata su piattaforme marittime, al fine di sfruttare i venti d’alta quota sul mare, più forti e costanti. Le caratteristiche dell’installazione non richiedono infrastrutture rigide, aggirando così molte delle difficoltà tecniche ed economiche legate all’operatività in mare aperto delle turbine eoliche tradizionali. Tale soluzione è applicabile anche al sistema Carousel.
KIT BUS
K – BUS: Electric bus to extra fast charging by an automatic system that couples a paw moving a conductive mat placed under the area of the bus stop. The k-bus uses supercapacitors to recharge instantly instead of traditional batteries, obtaining advantages of cost, size, power consumption, logistics and disposal. The bus is fully recharged at each stop, in the normal time interval required for the ascent / descent of the passengers
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KiteGen Stem generator 3MW
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K – BUS: Electric bus to extra fast charging by an automatic system that couples a paw moving a conductive mat placed under the area of the bus stop. The k-bus uses supercapacitors to recharge instantly instead of traditional batteries, obtaining advantages of cost, size, power consumption, logistics and disposal. The bus is fully recharged at each stop, in the normal time interval required for the ascent / descent of the passengers
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Honorable Lawyer. Davide Baratto. CEO KiteGen Venture s.r.l Italy,with Vinicio Coello Chairman and Founder of Vigwines International, Barcelona Spain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sergio Bassino y vinicio
Honorable Sergio Bassino, Mechanical Dpt. SEQUOOIA automotion, KiteGen Italy, with Vinicio Coello Chairman and Founder of Vigwines International, Barcelona Spain

 

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Honorable Ing. Marco Ciccolini. International Business Devolopmet, KiteGen Venture s.r.l Italy, with Vinicio Coello Chairman and Founder of Vigwines International, Barcelona Spain
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Honorable MASSIMO IPPOLITO, Creator of Kite Gen Italy, with Vinicio Coello Chairman and Founder of Vigwines International, Barcelona Spain
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Honorable Stéphane Clinckart, CEO of EASY CPY LIMITED. Luxemburgo, with Vinicio Coello Chairman and Founder of Vigwines International, Barcelona Spain