Ballons That Create Power

Summary of "The Quest To Harness Wind Energy At 2,000 Feet" by Erik Sofge

          At Greentown labs in Summerville, Massachusetts, a group of engineers and environmental scientists have created Buoyant Airborne Turbine, or ABT, capable of flying at 2,000 feet to create power. Climate scientist, Ken Caldeira, estimates that the balloon could create up to four times more power than a similar turbine would on the ground. Another plus to the ABT is that its mobile and can be put up in a day with a small crew, much faster than it would take a large crew to put a similar turbine. So who would use this? Areas around the world without access to the electrical grid where other forms of renewable resources are to expensive would be able to utilize the ABT because of its relatively low price. 

          I really enjoyed this article because I have never heard of this technology before and learned more about renewable energy. I think that renewable energy is becoming very important, and emerging technologies like these are the future of renewable energy. I would really like to know how the creators of the ABT came up with the idea because of how abstract it is. This article really shows people what our future energy sources could be, and   shows that even the craziest ideas can be a reality. 

Sofge, E. (2014, October 6). The quest to harness wind energy at 2,000 feet. Popular Science.