Ram air kite and suspended control unit of Kite Power Systems Ltd. in operation (6 July 2015)
Aerodynamic control of the ram air wing of Kite Power Systems Ltd. (16 March 2015)
Ram air wing of Kite Power Systems Ltd. during flight, seen from the kite control unit
Simon Heyes CEO Kite Power Systems Ltd.
The Tontine Centre 20 Trongate
Glasgow United Kingdom
simon.heyes@kitepowersystems.com www.kitepowersystems.com
Kite Power Systems ś Update & Progress on the Development of a 500 kW Kite
Energy System At West Freugh, Scotland
Simon Heyes Kite Power Systems Ltd.
Kite Power Systems Ltd. (KPS) will provide an update on site activities since securing equity investment from E.ON, Shell, Schlumberger and Scottish Enterprise at the start of 2017. This will include company relocation, test site development, environmental permitting and devel-opment of a 500 kW demonstrator unit.
KPS has relocated from Essex, England to Glasgow, Scot-land and trebled the size of the team to 28. KPS has two test sites near Stranraer, Scotland (West Freugh and Cas-tle Kennedy).
West Freugh is a Ministry of Defence owned military range which is operated by QinetiQ. The site is within the small-est air danger area in the UK, with exclusion extending up to 35,000 ft altitude (way in excess of the KPS operational limits). Approval for operating at the site was achieved through consultation the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
KPS obtained planning consent for the site in summer 2016. The area is within the Luce Bay and Sands Special Conservation Area with designated bird species including Greenland White Fronted Geese and Hen Harriers. KPS has conducted bird surveys and bird impact modelling supported by Natural Power consultants.
The development of a 500 kW demonstrator unit has pro-gressed, with the system to be completed and commis-sioned in Dumfries, Scotland, ready for deployment to the test site in 2017.
KPS has identified a pilot array site for deployment con-struction as early as 2020, comprising of up to 10 × 500 kW systems, with a total power output of 5 MW. This phase of activity is moving from feasibility to environ-mental scoping.
Protected Greenland White Fronted Geese migrate to the area around West Freugh during October to April. Picture courtesy of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
