Google has bought innovative wind turbine company Makani. Their turbines are airborne.
Here’s what Makani does.
On May 9th, 2013, the Makani team conducted the first fully autonomous flight of an airborne wind generation system. The following video illustrates this landmark turnkey flight (launch, hover, power generation, hover, land) with footage compiled from several recent tests. For a shortened video showing all flight modes in real time: launch, hover, power generation, hover and land
Makani’s Airborne Wind Turbine is a tethered wing that generates power by flying in large circles where the wind is stronger and more consistent. It eliminates 90% of the material used in conventional wind turbines, and can access winds both at higher altitudes and above deep waters offshore.