China taps high-altitude winds for power generation by flying craft to 4,000m

China has flown an airborne wind energy system to 4,000 metres (13,123 feet) above sea level and generated electricity from the sky, in what state broadcaster CCTV described as a world first. According to a CCTV report on Saturday, the prototype S4000 craft completed a full work cycle – ascent, station-keeping, power generation and recovery – at a test site in northwestern China, which the broadcaster called a breakthrough for high-altitude wind power and a step towards engineering...