Google to test flying wind turbines in Hawaii

The tech giant Google is looking to start a pilot project to test a flying wind turbine design that could revolutionise the wind energy sector.

According to reports, the company has selected a site on Hawaii where it hopes to develop and test its latest innovation.

Makani Power, which Google acquired last year and absorbed into its Google X division, is running the project and has designed lightweight kites that can harness energy from high-altitude winds.

Alden Woodrow, Google X business team lead, visited Hawaii earlier this month to discuss the pilot project south of Waimea.

Smaller versions of the wind kite have already been tested but the pilot project will mark significant progress in commercialising the device.

Peter Fitzgerald, Google's UK sales director, attended the Cheltenham Literary Festival this week, and said: "You have to spend a lot of money on steel and concrete to build these massive turbines and you can only do that in about 15 per cent of the world where the wind is fast enough."

The turbines would be tethered 300 metres high and would have wings to help them stay in the air.

Floating at high altitudes, they will be powered by higher wind speeds than conventional wind power applications and could increase the amount of energy produced.

Estimates suggest that the kite could generate 50 per cent more energy while eliminating 90 per cent of the materials used and for half the cost of standard wind turbines.