RWE will test potential of innovative airborne wind energy technologies at a test site in Ireland after being granted planning permission to build such a facility in Mayo County, where construction of the site infrastructure is expected to begin later this year.

The German utility is delivering the test site together with Dutch technology outfit Ampyx Power, with plans to first test a 150 kilowatt demonstrator system that could later be followed up by a commercial-scale 1MW kite.

The site during its planned eight years of operational lifetime will also test systems from other developers.

“The launch of an airborne wind testing site in Ireland is an early move for RWE into a new technology to generate green electricity,” said Katja Wunschel, chief operating officer for wind onshore and PV Europe and Asia-Pacific at RWE Renewables.

“Our demonstration project will give us the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the technology being developed and to build valuable relationships with the pioneers and innovators of airborne wind.”

Airborne wind energy systems harness the strong and steady winds at altitudes greater than several hundred metres, while infrastructure costs are reduced when compared to conventional wind turbines.

The system being tested by RWE consists of a ground-based wind generator, a launch and land platform, and small, aircraft-shaped device.

Moving from current 100 to 200kW demonstrator projects towards larger systems could make airborne wind energy attractive for use at large wind farms, the utility said.

The test centre is supported by the EU’s Interreg North-West Europe funding programme.

“After 12 years of hard work and multiple generations of smaller prototypes, we are excited to start operating our technology demonstrator on a 150 kW scale in Ireland in a real operational environment,” Ampyx chief executive Fabrizio Nastri said.

“The collaboration with RWE and incorporating their vast experience of wind energy into in our product design is a big step toward commercialising our technology.”

RWE operates a small onshore wind farm in Kerry County, and is developing the 600-900MW Dublin Array offshore wind project in partnership with Saorgus Energy.

Wind

'Early move into new technology': RWE to test airborne wind energy systems at new Irish site