Assessment of the global theoretical and technical energy potentials of onshore airborne wind energy systems

Abstract Decarbonization of global energy supply requires among others the development and deployment of unconventional energy technologies, which can overcome certain barriers to the deployment of conventional technologies. In addition, it is necessary to clarify the amount of energy that can be potentially produced from these novel technologies. This study presents a global assessment of the energy potential of an unconventional wind energy technology called airborne wind energy system (AWES) for onshore applications. This technology has a considerably small material footprint and visual impact compared to the conventional wind turbines. The target technology is a system currently available in the market that generates electricity based on a soft kite connected by a tether to a generator. It was found that globally, this technology can theoretically deliver 38.5 PWh yr −1 . After considering topographic and land suitability restrictions the energy potential decreases to 12.5 PWh yr −1 (equivalent to around half of 2022 electricity consumption). The high-grade energy potential (annual average capacity factor >32%) constituted around three quarters of the global total. Further analyses will clarify the effect of uncertainties involved in the assessment (such as the height of operation and the land suitability constraints, among others), and the conditions under which AWES outperform conventional wind turbines. Also, the assessment can be extended to offshore applications and to include the economic evaluation of the energy potential. This study is a first attempt to assess the global potential of an unconventional wind energy technology which can be considered in the analysis of future decarbonization scenarios.