RWE and Kitepower mark one year of airborne wind test facility in Ireland, extend partnership

Kitepower has had a very successful start in its testing programme, achieving over 90 flights and 100 hours of test time. With its vast space and excellent wind conditions, the RWE test site is perfect for scaling up Kitepower’s innovative technology. The extension for the site will allow Kitepower to finalise testing of its kite system and advance research on larger-scale airborne wind energy solutions.

Team expansion on site
This extended collaboration strengthens the relationship between Kitepower and RWE and provides valuable insights into the large-scale offshore potential of airborne wind energy. Kitepower has established a permanent crew on-site to ensure continuous research and development efforts.

Johannes Peschel, CEO of Kitepower, shared, “This extended collaboration not only strengthens the partnership between Kitepower and RWE but also opens the door to valuable insights into the large-scale offshore potential of airborne wind energy. Flights have increased to five per week on average, with total flight time surpassing 35 hours. Our test kite, the Falcon, now has a capacity of up to 100 kW, compared to the 30 kW capacity of our smaller Hawk system.”

Peter Lefroy, Head of Offshore Development, RWE Ireland & UK West, said, “We are pleased that RWE will continue to partner with Kitepower to further develop this new wind energy technology. RWE is exploring many different technical innovations to identify whether airborne wind technology could complement our existing renewables portfolio of offshore and onshore wind, solar energy, and battery storage.”