http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science...nes/index.html
Quote: The guiding principle of the FEG is that wind speed and constancy are far greater at high altitude than they are on the ground, especially in the two major jet streams - the Sub-Tropical Jet and the Polar Front Jet - that exist in each hemisphere (at around 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude respectively).
A turbine at great height, so the theory goes, can generate far more power than a similar turbine at or near ground level. It has been estimated that capturing just one percent of the available energy of these high altitude winds would meet the electricity needs of the entire planet.
"The winds a few miles above the mid latitudes of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are far stronger and more persistent than the winds just above us," Shepard told CNN.
"This results in potentially being able to generate electricity for over eighty percent of the time, as opposed to thirty percent of the time at ground-based wind turbine sites.
"The largest ground-based wind turbines currently produce about five megawatts each. We expect typical FEGs to produce about 20 megawatts each."
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SWEET! Maybe this could be the answer to help us on many levels...
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