WindLift Power

Evolving Acronyms in Airborne Wind Energy (AWE)

The November, 2009  High Altitude Wind Power (HAWP) Conference in Chico, CA  was an amazing opportunity to get together with thought leaders in the newly evolving field of Airborne Wind Energy (AWE).

One of the greatest things to come out of the conference was a new acronym for our technology sector.  When many of us got started in this space we imagined our systems up in the jet stream harnessing the amazing winds up there.  As we have built prototype, tested ideas, run simulation models, etc.  Many of the researchers in this space have started to come down to earth.  We all still believe that someday (5-20 years) tapping the winds above 2000 ft. will be a key component of renewable energy, but to sustain our work we need to find approaches that can pay the bills today.

Anyway, there are still a wide variety of different approaches, and incredible research going on all around the world.

One of the best things to come out of the conference was some agreement on an acronym for what we do…  The general consensus has been to start calling the industry – Airborne Wind Energy (AWE).

There is of course lots of potential confusion with the American Wind Energy Association (AWE), the word awe, etc.  But in my limited experience using the term Airborne Wind Energy, it seemed to resonate well with people unfamiliar with the space.

Corey Houle at Swiss Kite Power had a better acronym, but it didn’t catch on – Airborne Wind Energy Systems Of Maximum Efficiency, for now I guess we are all in AWE.