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I wonder how much larger a Makani kite would need to be to equal the power generation of one of the Enercon turbines you've mentioned. It would also be interes

I wonder how much larger a Makani kite would need to be to equal the power generation of one of the Enercon turbines you've mentioned. It would also be interesting to know how they both perform in strong winds. Can one keep generating power while the other needs to pause?

jacquesm 11y ago
The Enercons shut down for safety certain wind speeds and up to that point they will cut down their output (and thus their RPM) by furling the blades. Most of these big machines are variable pitch. I'd assume that if the Makani kite gets close to its rated speeds that they'd winch it down to the ground for safety reasons. It would be quite annoying if a thing like that became unhinged starting at 250 meters or so. It could be carried quite a way before hitting the ground again.