Just saw this topic today.
Energy generated by spiralling kites.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0%2C71908-0.html?tw=wn_index_20
Why are smart people so stupid when it comes to seeing simple workable answers to these kinds of issues? The same basic core answer works for both Ocean tides and Air power.
George King
www.cosmicsalamander.com
I think the unpredictable nature of the wind would make it really difficult to keep kites in the air, keep their strings from tangling, etc. It seems like a nightmare.
To do it right, you wouldn't want kites tied to a big rotating thing. You'd attach them to individual winches. Each kite would alternately pull the winch line out, generating power, and then allow itself to be pulled back in more easily. You could gear the winches together in pairs, or wind two oppositely on the same spool, so that one kite could always be pulling the other kite in.
The kites would have to be controlled by computer, using actuators on the kites themselves, so that their trajectories could be controlled much more accurately than is possible using strings.
Cheers,
Mr. Entropy