This balloon-mounted turbine churns out both electricity and Wi-Fi

Wind turbines have taken to the skies...

MIT startup Altaeros Energies , have built the worlds first floating wind turbine that can generate twice the energy output of its ground-based counterpart. Besides generating power, these floating power plants can provide WIFI, cell service and local weather data, and can be deployed in harsh weather conditions. Making them a perfect energy solution for remote areas.

You can think of these floating turbines as the wind farms of the future.

Fairbanks, Alaska, is soon to be the first home to one of these babies. The enormous helium-filled wind turbine will soon float over the city to produce enough electricity for more than a dozen families living off the grid.

The Alaska Energy Authority has awarded Altaeros a $1.3 million grant to test the design over the course of 18 months. The turbine will hover at an altitude of 1,000 feet for 18 months, catching air currents that are five to eight times more powerful than winds on the ground.

Experts offer three reasons why airborne wind turbines might work for remote areas:

1. • They're portable.
2. • They're computer controlled, requiring no onboard pilots and few operators.
3. • No expensive infrastructure, such as electrical grids or power stations, is required.

Airborne wind turbines, and other innovations this year like solar roadways , may feel like something from a sci-fi movie, but are in fact close to becoming realities.