Kitepower’s first airborne wind energy system lifts off in Aruba

Kitepower has announced that its first airborne wind energy system (AWES) is in operation. The Falcon 100 kW took to the sky as part of a military exercise carried out by the Dutch Defense near the area of Vader Piet on the island of Aruba. The ongoing operation is the follow-up of a five-year-long collaboration between the Dutch Ministry of Defense and the TU Delft spinoff.

“Kitepower is one of the interesting possibilities of energy supply,” says Lieutenant Colonel Paul van der Heul. “We see the application as Defense in the operational and civil domain. It has social added value. This is one of the reasons for Defense to participate in the project. This offers opportunities, especially in remote and windy areas such as islands.”