| 11 Dec 2025
Incorporation of Airborne Wind Energy Systems to Enhance Resiliency for a Microgrid in Rural Puerto Rico
Abstract. This study evaluates the deployment potential of airborne wind energy systems (AWES) in Puerto Rico to identify early-adopter locations and assess impacts to microgrid resilience. Prospective sites across the island are assessed in quantum global information software using infrastructure and environmental layers combined with high-altitude wind resource data. Culebra, an island reliant on an underwater transmission line and highly susceptible to hurricanes, is selected as a representative case study for microgrid modeling. A real-world published power curve for a commercial 120-kW AWES, in combination with local wind and solar resource data, are integrated into the Microgrid Design Toolkit to simulate standalone and hybrid systems incorporating AWES, photovoltaics, and battery energy storage systems under realistic outage conditions and design-basis threats such as tropical storms and hurricanes. Seasonal complementarity between wind and solar is assessed, and performance metrics are evaluated with an emphasis on resilience outcomes. Results demonstrate that AWES can support a combination of priority and non-priority loads during extended grid disruptions and enable faster post-storm re-energization in isolated or infrastructure-limited settings, establishing Puerto Rico as a strong candidate for early-stage AWES adoption. Optimized results show that a configuration of three AWES systems with battery storage achieved approximately 92 % and 91 % energy availability for non-priority and priority loads respectively during modeled outages, while a hybrid configuration integrating one AWES, a photovoltaic array, and one battery energy storage system yielded approximately 85 % and 91 % availability for non-priority and priority loads, respectively.
Overall, this manuscript provides valuable insights as a rare case study assessing the potential of AWES in a real-world geographic context. The analysis methodology is technically sound and clearly presented, supporting the validity of the results. I recommend the paper for publication.
However, the manuscript could be further strengthened by including a quantitative comparison between conventional tower-based wind grid systems and AWES-based systems. Such an analysis would more rigorously demonstrate the advantages of AWES, particularly in disaster-prone regions.
10: Consider revising “three AWES systems” to “three AWES,” as the term AWES already implies “systems.”
65: Consider increasing the label size for key areas (e.g., Puerto Rico and Gulebra) in Figure 1 to improve readability.
110: It would be helpful to include a callout for Gulebra on the map (Figure 5). Consider to increase font size of Figure 9 and 12
170: A more detailed description of the MDT software would be helpful. While readers can infer some of its capabilities from the results section, providing a clear introduction to the tool—preferably before the statement “Various optimized systems were identified using MDT software…”—would improve clarity.
195: Could you elaborate on the statement that “the power curve is dependent on the required frequency of reel-in phases”? My understanding is that the Skysail power curve is defined as the average net cycle power and therefore already incorporates the energy consumption associated with reel-in for each wind-speed.
280: What criteria were used to assess feasibility in terms of energy availability and cost? The Pareto diagrams (Figures 17 and 18) suggest that feasibility is determined primarily, if not exclusively, by the performance criterion. Was a cost criterion also applied in distinguishing the red versus green solutions?