I work for one of the biggest global wind turbine manufacturers. On one hand I recognize that this is exactly how disruption happens- small player with a tremendous idea and the opportunity to utilize wind resources in areas where traditional turbine designs can't be sited.<p>On the other, I don't envy the engineering team their road ahead- I see firsthand how many challenges we face every day with "ground-based" turbines, and have an inkling of how difficult an engineering challenge this will be. Best of luck to them- anything that pushes renewables forward in a meaningful way is a win for everybody.
Great news for the folks working at Makani! I hope Google continues to develop the product. Every time I've spoken to anyone at Makani, about tether materials, motor design, carbon fiber manufacturing, whatever, they've known their shit very deeply. They've really beaten a path through a lot of untrodden ground to get to where they are, I hope the product gets off the ground (literally!)
For those that have a subscription, The New Yorker did an interesting profile of Makani in the 5/20 issue:<p><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/05/20/130520fa_fact_specter" rel="nofollow">http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/05/20/130520fa_fact_...</a><p>Apparently Montague was actually seeking funding to create a kite-boat (he had previously help establish kite-boarding), but it was Larry and Sergey's idea to go down the wind energy route.
reminds me of a passage from In The Plex<p><i>Over the years Winograd had become an expert at figuring out where students stood on the spectrum of brainiacs who found their way into the department. Some were kids whose undergrad record was straight A pluses, GRE scores scraping perfection, who would come in and say,“What thesis should I work on?” On the other end of the spectrum were kids like Larry Page, who would come in and say, “Here’s what I think I can do.” And his proposals were crazy.
He’d come into the office and talk about doing something with space tethers or solar kites.</i>
Saul Griffith (co-founder of Makani) is a far more valuable asset than just the tech/product here. He's very active, collaborative, & well respected in the Maker community.
As a kitesurfer and investor in renewable energy (solar) I really love this company. The founder is one of the pioneers of kitesurfing and was the chief designer for Naish kites when the industry was just starting out. He realized that you didn't need a tower and giant blades to generate power from wind. Neat. Would be great if someday they have a system that can propel boats.
Makani is looking to hire a few people:
<a href="http://www.makanipower.com/careers/current-job-openings/" rel="nofollow">http://www.makanipower.com/careers/current-job-openings/</a>
Wow. I used to hang out on the kitesurf email lists on yahoo back in the day, Saul used to post open source kitesurf patterns, I made a few kites (of my own design.)<p>Then he went on to start Monkey Kites, which I think he lets his sister run (it's now called <a href="http://www.griffinkites.com.au" rel="nofollow">http://www.griffinkites.com.au</a> )<p>Don Montague used to come on the forums talking about giant ship kites that would tow a oil tanker across the ocean saving fuel.<p>It's interesting to see that they're working together on a non-kite idea.<p>Also, I bet that spinning wing chops birds and bats up with 100% efficiency. Maybe they plan on sending it much much higher in the atmosphere (you could tether lots to an airship which in turn was teathered to the ground)
Congrats to those at Makani. Also, RIP Corwin[1].. I didn't know him personally but it's clear from the responses after his passing how important he was to the company and to those around him. It's a shame he didn't get to see Makani get this wonderful bit of validation.<p>[1] - <a href="http://www.makanipower.com/corwin/" rel="nofollow">http://www.makanipower.com/corwin/</a>
This is great for the owners of Makani but what does Google honestly know about running an energy company?<p>With all of the side projects that Google has shuttered lately, I am disappointed more than anything by this acquisition.
maybe a dumb question but how did they solve the issue of coiling? if my Q isn't clear, I mean the twisting of the tether as the airborne vehicle circles the sky