Harvesting high altitude wind energy for power production: The concept based on Magnus' effect

High altitude winds are considered to be, together with solar energy, the most promising renewable energy source in the future. The concepts based on kites or airfoils are already under development. In this paper the concept of transforming kinetic energy of high altitude winds to mechanical energy by exploiting Magnus effect on airborne rotating cylinders is presented, together with corresponding two-dimensional per-module aerodynamic and process dynamics analysis. The concept is based on a rotating airborne cylinder connected to the ground station with a tether cable which is used for mechanical energy transfer. Performed studies have shown the positive correlation between the wind speed and mechanical energy output. The main conclusion of this work is that the presented concept is feasible for power production. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.