Feasibility study of pumping cycle kite power system implication in Scotland UK

Abstract

To meet the worldwide requirements of carbon emission reduction, the European Council set a target for 15% of final energy consumption in the UK to come from renewable energy by 2020. In the UK, the Climate Change Act (2008) set a target for the reduction of 80% of carbon emissions by 2050. The biggest renewable energy sources in the UK are bioenergy, wind, solar and hydro. The UK is located in a windy area and is one of the top locations in the world for wind power, often considered to be the best in Europe. Since the 1980’s, the number of wind farms has increased greatly. Wind turbines extract wind energy from 100 metres above the ground. Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) systems enable the extraction of more energy from the wind at elevated altitudes beyond 150 meters using a technique termed pumping cycle kite power system. Scotland is the most suitable location for the implementation of AWE systems in the UK. In this work, the annual energy production of such a pumping cycle kite power system in Scotland was analysed using Luchsinger’s analytical models. The annual energy production was found to be over 3.4MWh/m2 in all five locations in Scotland.