Colombian landscape architecture studio Paisajes Emergentes recently unveiled plans for an energy-generating kite farm on a public beach in Abu Dhabi. Tethered to flexible posts, 200 para-kites would use the innovative Windbelt generator to convert wind into enough electricity to power more than 600 homes. The high-flying design is an entry in the Land Art Generator Initiative, which combines land art projects with renewable energy generation.
The eco-park allows people to interact with energy production in several different ways, ranging from the predictable to the extreme. A homeowner can choose to buy the energy from a kite, and as a kind of thank-you gift he or she will also receive a live feed of the beach views from the para-kite sent to a monitor in the home — a living landscape painting, if you will.
On-site, a park visitor can also check out the view from above using a periscope-like device embedded in each tether post. Or, the adventurous sort can actually harness him-or-herself to the kite, parasailing while producing energy!
The 200 kites extend across a 60-meter grid of flexible posts that correspond to tide levels. The posts constitute the only disturbance to the land, and marine life is left completely undisturbed. Each kite can produce roughly 6,200 kilowatt-hours a year — enough to power three energy-efficient homes.
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