From the Economist, via BoingBoing:

Just as oil companies are drilling deeper and in more remote locations in search of new reserves, pioneer wind-power engineers are looking higher in the sky for new sources of energy. Conventional turbines will not take them there—the highest to date is just over 200 metres tall. So they are trying to invent a whole new technology for harvesting wind: electricity generators that fly.

Presumably they’d need to be tethered away from busy air corridors.

The promoter’s Web site is given to exclamation! marks! and CAPITALS!

In mass use, our calculations show that FEGs of Roberts’ design should be able to produce electricity at a life cycle cost of LESS THAN TWO CENTS PER KILOWATT HOUR using tether materials now available. And new tether materials with even stronger strength to weight ratios are being developed.

If all costs are considered, including the true costs of nuclear fission, long range this will be the world’s cheapest energy source other than the limited hydro sources and limited situations where surface based wind turbines may be the most economic in supplying relatively local needs. But, on a larger scale, our figures show that high altitude wind energy will be capable of supplying the world’s needs at the best overall economics.

Anyone heard of this? It’s new to me.