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Re:Google Acquires Makani Power And Its Airborne Wind Turbines by joeag on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @09:33PM (#5754841)
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.
Re:Google Acquires Makani Power And Its Airborne Wind Turbines by exDM69 on Thursday May 23, 2013 @07:30AM (#5756230)
> Would be great if someday they have a system that can propel boats.

There's a company in Germany that is building power kite -style sail systems for cargo ships. They have been running some prototypes successfully.

http://www.skysails.info/english/