ABSTRACT
3-bladed horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) require the least amount of material for a given power and hence they offer the lowest cost per installed kW than any other wind energy converter. This chapter overviews the most recurrent "alternative technologies" proposed in the wind power market, and explains why the same have no future or are not even likely to work. Since wind power is a function of the cube of the speed, and the speed and steadiness of wind increases exponentially with the altitude, it is evident that placing the turbine as high as possible will require a smaller turbine and hence lower cost for a given amount of energy produced along the year. High-altitude wind energy production technologies can be divided in two main categories: "flying" or "airborne" generation and "ground" generation. The chapter discusses the features and weak points of current high-altitude wind power concepts.
