Wind turbines placed at high altitudes could generate enough energy to power entire cities, according to new research from the Carnegie Institution for Science and California State University.  So, I guess the next time someone questions whether wind power can meet the world’s energy demands, you can just tell them to go fly a kite, and they’ll discover that it’s possible.  The exciting report also shows that the wind energy density is higher over certain cities,  making New York City an ideal candidate, as well as areas over Japan, eastern China, southern Australia and northeastern Africa.  The jet streams that pass over these regions are on average ten times faster than surface winds and are much more steady and reliable, and since the turbines would be placed about 30,000 feet in the air, they would be less likely to face opposition from people concerned about views being obscured by ground level structures.

A variety of high altitude turbines and kites are already in development and now it seems just a matter of finding the safest, most effective versions to use and the funding to set them sailing.  I’m curious how the turbines will manage to steer clear of the flight patterns of planes and birds, but I’m sure the developers will take that into consideration.  Just think how amazing it would be if we could cleanly power our planet simply by catching a cool breeze.

Photo: Ronnie44052’s flickr photostream (creative commons)