this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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'Windmill': China tests world’s first megawatt-level airship to capture high winds (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 1 month ago by kalkulat@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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"High-altitude winds between 1,640 and 3,281 feet (500 and 10,000 meters) above the ground are stronger and steadier than surface winds. These winds are abundant, widely available, and carbon-free.

"The physics of wind power makes this resource extremely valuable. “When wind speed doubles, the energy it carries increases eightfold, triple the speed, and you have 27 times the energy,” explained Gong Zeqi "

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[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 32 points 1 month ago (9 children)

Incredible progress on a concept that has been seeking investment for last 15 years. It doesn't just provide 1.2mw, it also operates at a higher capacity factor than capturing winds closer to ground. I'm sure it can scale even higher.

This is useful for clean energy shipping. Design supports an unthethered airship that produces H2 and transports it at the same time. I believe the design would support forward momentum directly upwind, but some tacking angle would be supported.

This is not just a breakthrough in wind energy generation, it is a breakthrough in airship capability.

[–] MBech 2 points 1 month ago

Also, it looks cool as fuck!

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