A giant airship launched in a densely populated area of southwestern China earlier this month has set social media on fire.
Footage of the S2000, the world’s most powerful flying wind farm, in the skies above Yibin, Sichuan province, prompted comparisons with an alien spaceship or the airships that featured in the animated film Big Hero 6.
The white airship – measuring 60 metres (200 feet) in length and a width and height of 40 metres – was filled with helium on the ground before ascent, according to footage from the test on social media.
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It climbed steadily for 30 minutes, reaching an altitude of 2,000 metres.
During this test, the system generated 385 kilowatt-hours of electricity – enough to charge around six mainstream electric vehicles or power an average urban household for a month, the operators said. However, it has a stated maximum capacity of three megawatts.
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It also caused minimal disturbance on the ground with an operational volume of just 60 decibels.
While land-based and offshore wind power is used extensively, high-altitude wind energy remains a largely untapped source of power.
