China just flew a wind turbine in the sky—and it set a world record

Technology Jan 10, 2026

China's S2000 Stratosphere Airborne Wind Energy System, basically a giant floating wind turbine, just pulled off its first test flight over Sichuan on January 5.
It's the world's first high-altitude, megawatt-class wind turbine designed for cities—and it can generate enough power in an hour to fully charge 30 electric cars.

Why does this matter?

Instead of needing tons of land, the S2000 floats 2,000 meters up and sends electricity down a tether straight to the grid.
Its debut flight generated 385 kilowatt-hours and marked the first time this kind of tech was plugged into local power.
It's a big step for renewable energy—showing that ideas once stuck in labs are now actually powering real cities.