China Energy Engineering Corporation

History

2025: Launch of largest kite for power generation

In November 2025, China announced the creation of the world's largest system for generating electricity using a kite. According to the South China Morning Post, a parachute-type design with a dome area of ​ ​ 5 thousand square meters. m was developed by China Energy Engineering Corporation as part of the first national research project in the field of high-altitude wind power. The principle of operation of the device is as follows: a light kite, rising to a height, spins a cable connected to a ground generator. To return the system, the generator switches to the engine mode and performs the function of a winch.

The tests involved the main snake and two auxiliary structures with an area of ​ ​ 1.2 thousand square meters. m each, raised by helium balloons. Cao Lun, chief designer of the national high-altitude wind power project, told Xinhua news agency that the experiment measured the tension of the cable in natural wind conditions for the subsequent calculation of the aerodynamic characteristics of the system.

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Фото: CMG

According to estimates presented by CCTV, such installations, operating at altitudes of more than 5 km, reduce land use by 95% and steel consumption by 90% compared to traditional wind generators. The reduction in the cost of electricity can be 30%. According to CCTV, one plant with a capacity of 10 MW is able to meet the annual needs of more than 10 thousand households.

Similar technologies are being created in other countries. So, the Dutch startup Kitepower is developing kites that move along the trajectory of the "eight" and also unwind the ground winch. In parallel, China is developing the direction of high-altitude turbines, as demonstrated by the launch of a 1 MW S1500 flying wind turbine.^[1]

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