580
'Windmill': China tests world’s first megawatt-level airship to capture high winds
(interestingengineering.com)
this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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Technology
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500 to 1,000 meters AGL is going to be a problem for aircrafts. You need remote areas to have no interference bc these are big balloons.
Paint the balloons red and put lights on them so aircraft don't hit them.
Why red? Paint it like a brick wall so they can pass through.
Because it makes the blood stains less noticeable.
/s
Air traffic has to adapt.
That is not how it works. Air ways would be rerouted and emergency aircraft would be effected. The cords would be the hidden danger.
This is intended as emergency power relief not a full time energy source.
Hmm interesting. I don't see how it could be economical as an emergency-only power source. To build them and store them for occasional use seems pretty unappealing. Surely if you had them, you'd use them to generate electricity/passive income.
You could think of them as easily mobile power systems, available to respond to emergencies, but used wherever is convenient the rest of the time.
So yeah, they'll still be a hazard for air traffic, but luckily we do have an established solution for that, the blinking red light. Also, controlled airspace around airfields.
The article literally says its for earthquake relief which absolutely makes sense. The lines are down and power is needed for emergecy operations and I can see how this would be useful.
It has emergency quick deploy flexibility but seems economical as permanent installation too. Where emergency power can charge 50c/kwh+ instead of 10c/kwh, relocating quickly is much more power/profitablity than gasoline generators (which cost 50c/kwh in just fuel costs which also need emergency transportation).