Wait until you hear what Col. Mustard is up to!

A project in Co Mayo is generating renewable electricity through the flying of kites, which its operator has described as a potential “game changer” in the wind energy sector.

It is being conducted on a bogland just outside Bangor Erris, located on a landscape one might expect in a Star Wars.

The site, which is the first designated airborne wind energy test site in the world is being operated by Kitepower, a zero emissions energy solutions spin-off from Delft University in the Netherlands.

Kitepower’s system employs a yo-yo effect, where a kite, measuring 60sq/m is flown at altitudes of up to 425m attached to a rope that is wound around a drum - which itself is connected to a ground-based generator.

The kites can generate 2.5 to 4 tonnes of force on the tether.