"High-altitude winds between 1,640 and 3,281 feet (500 and 10,000 meters) above the ground are stronger and steadier than surface winds. These winds are abundant, widely available, and carbon-free.

"The physics of wind power makes this resource extremely valuable. “When wind speed doubles, the energy it carries increases eightfold, triple the speed, and you have 27 times the energy,” explained Gong Zeqi "

  • AceBonobo@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    They’re trying to get it to100kW. That’s like a pretty big generator but not a huge one. So this isn’t a replacement for wind farms just yet. The picture is from a year ago. No mention of costs.

    Would it be possible to use heat to get it to float, instead of helium? Heat it up with electricity.

    • Kushan@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      The article says:

      The S1500 features a main airfoil and an annular wing that together form a giant duct. Inside this duct are 12 turbine-generator sets, each rated at 100 kW.

      That suggests to me (admittedly a layman) that each blimp is more like 1.2MW?