Name: High-altitude wind energy from kites!
Uploaded: 2009-03-23T01:00:00Z
Duration: 5 min 5 s
Description: In this brief talk, Saul Griffith unveils the invention his new company Makani Power has been working on: giant kite turbines that create surprising amounts of clean, renewable energy.

In this brief talk, Saul Griffith unveils the invention his new company Makani Power has been working on: giant kite turbines that create surprising amounts of clean, renewable energy.

High-altitude wind energy from kites!

Kites, once tools of flight pioneers and childhood play, are being reinvented as powerful generators of renewable energy. A single kite smaller than a piano can already power several homes, while larger airborne wind machines promise to reach stronger winds at high altitudes, where turbines cannot go. With high-altitude wind holding enough energy to supply humanity many times over, this playful technology could fuel a bold new era of clean power. History shows that audacious ideas, like mass-producing airplanes in World War II, can reshape our world when pursued with vision and teamwork.