Latest News
Welcome to our latest blog. We’ll be sharing Windlift updates covering technological progress, Executive Team Thoughts, Employee Highlights and the Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) industry. We’re excited to share our progress with you. Enjoy!
Taking Energy Off the Grid
The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to disrupt trade and production, exerting a drag on the global economy while pushing up inflation. The World Bank forecasts a rise in food and energy prices for the next three years, with Americans already feeling prices at the gas pump with a national average of $4.68 [...]
Race Car Mechanic Turned Composite Designer
Professional race car mechanic – an unexpected profession for one of our Windlift employees. In college, Brayden Summerlin earned a degree in race car building. While Brayden is a car enthusiast, he decided composite design was the lane he wanted to stay in. As a composite technician, he now spends his time at [...]
North Carolina Brings Offshore Wind Energy to Center Stage
North Carolina is known for its exceptional solar capabilities, but what about its wind energy? Recent advancements in wind energy technology have made wind energy an economical and reliable source of power in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast. Wind energy can help combat climate change while creating high-paying jobs in manufacturing [...]
Solar Continues to Soar in North Carolina
Renewable energy abounds in North Carolina. North Carolina is first in the South and fourth in the nation for solar power generation, with solar comprising 8% of the state’s electricity mix. While the state has only one major wind farm on land, powerful offshore winds have enough power to meet the state’s energy [...]
Renewable Energy Continues to Break Records in 2022
Globally, the renewable energy sector continues to break records. Solar, wind and other clean sources generated 38% of the world’s electricity in 2021, surpassing coal (36%). For the first time, solar and wind generated 10% of this share of electricity, according to research from global energy think tank Ember. Taken together, wind [...]
Windlift Engineer & Chapel Hill Native Ellie Funkhouser
Meet Eleanor Funkhouser, also known as Ellie. As one of Windlift’s tech engineers, she splits her time between designing and testing individual components and subsystems of the Airborne Power Generator (APG) and testing the entire system as a whole. She joined the team in January 2021, quickly demonstrating tenacity and creativity in solving [...]
Latest IPCC Climate Report Finds Nature as One of Our Best Solutions to the Climate Crisis
Credit: Lukasz Szmigiel The United Nations recently released a new climate report built upon a previous assessment released in February. The last IPCC climate report focused on climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability; this report provides an updated evaluation of global mitigation strategies and pledges and examines emission sources. In other [...]
How You Can Take Climate Change Action
We can all play a role in combating climate change. While we need transformative change to limit warming below 2 degrees celsius, every action matters. Taking personal steps to limit your carbon footprint impacts carbon emissions and gives individuals a sense of agency. Below are a few ways to take climate change [...]