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Cited by 346Aerospace Engineering and Energy SystemsWind Energy Research and DevelopmentWave and Wind Energy Systems

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Airborne Wind Energy Systems: A review of the technologies

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Cherubini, Antonello, Papini, Andrea, Vertechy, Rocco, Fontana, Marco·2015·Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
DOI 10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.053
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Abstract

Among novel technologies for producing electricity from renewable resources, a new class of wind energy converters has been conceived under the name of Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWESs). This new generation of systems employs flying tethered wings or aircraft in order to reach winds blowing at atmosphere layers that are inaccessible by traditional wind turbines. Research on AWESs started in the mid seventies, with a rapid acceleration in the last decade. A number of systems based on radically different concepts have been analyzed and tested. Several prototypes have been developed all over the world and the results from early experiments are becoming available. This paper provides a review of the different technologies that have been conceived to harvest the energy of high-altitude winds, specifically including prototypes developed by universities and companies. A classification of such systems is proposed on the basis of their general layout and architecture. The focus is set on the hardware architecture of systems that have been demonstrated and tested in real scenarios. Promising solutions that are likely to be implemented in the close future are also considered.

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  • AWT provides more reliable and effective generation of electricity.

    “Thus, it provides a more reliable and effective generation of electricity [141].”

    From State of the Art of Solid-State Transformers: Advanced Topologies, Implementation Issues, Recent Progress and Improvements (2020) · cites this paper as [141]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) describes high-altitude winds as energetic and persistent, and Section 6 says crosswind systems can produce substantially more power than non-crosswind systems. But the review does not establish that AWTs generally provide more reliable and effective electricity generation: Section 4 notes that some airborne systems have highly discontinuous output, and the Conclusions describe the technology as emerging. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 52

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Metadata

Authors
Cherubini, A., Papini, A., Vertechy, R., & Fontana, M.
Affiliations
  • Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (IT)
  • University of Bologna (IT)
Corresponding author
Fontana, Marco
ORCID
Venue
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-11
Volume
51
Pages
1461-1476
ISSN
1364-0321 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.053
OpenAlex
W1914753139
Cited by
346
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 1
FWCI
32.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
  • Iris (University of Trento) (submittedVersion)
  • CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • INFM-OAR (INFN Catania) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Kitegen Research Srl and Scuola Superiore Sant׳Anna
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Aerospace Engineering and Energy Systems
  • Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Wind Energy Research and Development
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Ocean Engineering › Wave and Wind Energy Systems
Keywords
airborne wind energy, high-altitude wind energy, tethered aircraft, wind turbines, hardware architecture, renewable electricity generation

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