This study is based on component life and maintenance costs of similar components in use in other industries and our projections of operating costs. It does not include having to pay for land use or making profit on the sale of electricity.
Our figures show now, that with the advent of very strong but light tether materials, through use of what is essentially existing rotorcraft technology, the capture and conversion of high altitude wind energy to electricity should prove cheaper than derivation of an equivalent amount from any fossil fuel.
Long range, it is expected that the most economic FEGs will have a capacity of at least ten megawatts. When we include paying for land use, we still expect the cost to be at or less than 2 cents per kilowatt hour. As is true for ground-based wind turbines, site selection for wind capacity and proximity to existing transmission lines are extremely important cost factors.
In summary, our figures show that energy costs derived from high altitude winds, competing head-to-head without subsidy, should be less than those based on fossil fuels.
