A look inside Windlift’s unique SBIR funding
Many startups keep the lights on with funding from venture capitalists or angel donors. Windlift is supported by both – and something else. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is a highly competitive program that offers financial and technical R&D support for technological innovation and private-sector commercialization. Windlift has won 5 SBIR [...]
How did renewable energy become so inexpensive so fast?
Historically, fossil fuels dominated the global power supply because they were the cheapest energy source. This has changed dramatically in the past decade. Electricity from renewable energy is now less expensive than fossil fuels in most parts of the world. Wright's law and associated learning curves are the underlying drivers for renewables' dramatic [...]
What you need to know about the latest IPCC climate report
The catastrophic impacts of the climate emergency may soon outpace humanity’s ability to adapt, according to the latest report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Many regions may be unable to adapt at all if we continue to delay action. Written by 270 researchers from 67 countries, and approved [...]
Meet our latest Alaskan hire, Phil Ranck
Say hello to Phil Ranck - one of Windlift’s two Alaskan employees. Ranck, originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now lives in Wasilla, Alaska. Wasilla is a tiny town roughly an hour north of Anchorage, where moose and fox commonly roam the roads. He retired from the U.S. Army after 24 years as a [...]
Marine Corps personnel argues for a switch to renewable energy
Windlift has been a proud partner of the United States Marine Corps since 2011. This partnership began when Windlift won a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to design a trailer-mounted 24 kilowatt (kW) Airborne Power Generator (APG). The Marine Corps Fuel Problem The Marine Corps is the United State’s [...]
How flying turbines stack up to other renewable energy technologies
Renewable energy technologies provide clean and increasingly inexpensive energy. For example, solar-photovoltaics (PV) is 10X cheaper than a decade ago and is only expected to continue decreasing in cost. Likewise, wind energy is one of the fastest-growing energy sources globally and the largest renewable energy source in the United States. So, you [...]
Wait, airborne wind turbines can fly without a tower and base?
Windlift’s mission is to create energy for a sustainable civilization. Many engineers, visionaries and engineers are working towards similar goals, but few are doing so with airborne wind energy (AWE). A rapid transition to renewable energy is critical for avoiding the most severe greenhouse gas emissions projections–that much we know. AWE could [...]