Climate Changed

Flying Wind Turbines Make Their First Trip Offshore in Norway

  • Alphabet-subsidiary Makani completes test in the North Sea
  • Airborne machine could work in some of the deepest waters
Shell’s kite wind project deployed in the North Sea.Source: Makani Power Inc.
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A carbon-fiber kite tethered to a buoy floating in waters 220 meters (761 feet) deep took flight in a test to prove that the future of offshore wind power might fly through the air.

The kite, owned by the Alphabet Inc.-subsidiary Makani and backed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, completed its first demonstration about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) off the coast of Norway in the North Sea.