A novel approach to Airborne Wind Energy: Overview of the EAGLE System project

This paper describes the design, modeling and development of a novel Airborne Wind Energy system (the EAGLE System), designed to handle a 2.5 kW, 25 kW or 100 kW aloft generator at varying altitudes. The system combines a hybrid tethered lighter-than-air and aerodynamic lift based flyer supporting a counter-rotating wind power generator payload, and a nonlinear-robust MIMO control system, with longitudinal and lateral control capabilities. Within this design, the power generation and lift systems are separate and do not rely on each other for operation. Overviews of the modeling, controller design, payload variations, and future prototyping are included topics.