What is the Future of Wind Energy Technology?
Developing renewable energy sources is a crucial part of addressing and mitigating climate change. Power derived from wind energy is a realistic and growing alternative to fossil fuel power.
Wind energy is a small but fast-growing fraction of electricity production. It accounts for 5 percent of global electricity production and 7 percent of the U.S. electricity supply.
Engineers are in the early stages of creating airborne wind turbines, in which the components are either floated by a gas like helium or use their own aerodynamics to stay high in the air, where wind is stronger. These systems are being considered for offshore use, where it is expensive and difficult to install conventional wind turbines on tall towers.
In this video, John Dabiri, Caltech’s Centennial Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, discusses the future of wind energy technology.
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