Wind turbines are mostly built in vast prairie, where winds are strong and promote better power efficiency. A Swiss wind power generator company TwingTec, developed their own drone called the Twing drone, dubbed as TT100. The drone is used to set out to harvest wind power by flying it into the sky and ‘get’ strong winds from altitudes turbines wish of reaching. Similar to a kite, the TT100 is attached to the ground with a tether that can be extended 300 meters into the sky.
The twing – short for ‘tethered drone’ – can fly even without a physical human operator, having the ability to take off and land safely in all kinds of situations. It will automatically be deployed once the winds start to blow, utilising small propellers on the wing to create a small lifting force. Even if there is no wind on ground level, this drone system is still able to be deployed as long as there are steady and strong winds at high altitudes. Once the drone is up in the air, the motors shut off and the craft flies independently in figures of eight, generating power as its tether is pulled from the ground station. This mechanical energy is then transferred into electricity. And once the tethers reach its maximum length, the drone swiftly glides down and the process repeats.
The aim of development is to make wind power accessible to the wider public and the communities in remote or under-developed areas, which currently uses diesel generators as sources of energy. Areas hit by natural disasters can use this method to help them solve power problems. TwingTec also hopes to achieve sustainability targets and improve social license in the near future.
You can watch the video below regarding the drone: