SoftBank to buy into US producer of airborne wind turbines
A floating wind turbine developed by Altaeros.
TOKYO -- As part of its renewable energy push, SoftBank will invest $7 million in a U.S. developer of airborne wind turbines this month. Founded in 2010 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Altaeros Energies produces wind turbines that are lifted in the air using helium. At an altitude of 600 meters, the turbines can generate twice the amount of electricity of land-based windmills. Tethers transmit the power from the turbine to a portable ground station. SoftBank will become Altaeros' largest shareholder next to the U.S. company's two founders. By attaching mobile communications equipment to the turbines, the Japanese company seeks to provide mobile services, along with power, to remote islands and far-flung regions. Altaeros has tested its turbines in Alaska and aims to use the investment to commercialize them in early 2016. SoftBank entered the renewable energy business following the March 2011 earthquake in Japan, and now operates 15 solar power plants across the country.
(Nikkei)
