New Yorkers Could Tap Into a High-Flying Power Source

It turns out that New York really is the place to be, especially if you're a kite. That's because the sky above New York City is ideal for collecting high-altitude winds, which are a tremendous potential source of energy. High-altitude winds around the world are so powerful, in fact, that they contain enough energy to meet the world's energy needs 100 times over.

High-altitude winds, including jet streams, blow far faster than earthbound winds. They could power the world — but there are two issues.

First, while the winds blow fairly consistently, they do die down every now and then. That means high altitude wind power would have to be supplemented by a more traditional energy source to keep the lights turned on.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, to access high altitude winds, you have to reach them. But they're so high up (20,000 to 50,000 feet) that they can't be tapped by any conventional means. Several ideas have been "floated" to harvest high altitude energy. According to an article in Science Daily, one possibility involves the development of "tethered, kite-like wind turbines that would be lofted to the altitude of the jet streams. Up to 40 megawatts of electricity could be generated by current designs and transmitted to the ground via the tether."

If kite-based energy sources really do "take off," New York — which has the highest average high-altitude wind power density of any U.S. city — may fare particularly well. Its average wind power density measures up to 16 kilowatts per square meter!  Other lucky cities include Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City and Sao Paulo.