Resilient Energy, Anywhere

Can a tethered drone flying 400 feet in the air really replace traditional wind turbines? Rob Creighton, Founder and CEO of Windlift, brings an unconventional background to clean energy innovation. After mapping the human genome as a lab technician, his concerns about peak oil led him to Miles Lloyd's revolutionary 1980 paper on airborne wind energy. "Cut off the tip of a wind turbine blade, attach it to a tether and generate the same electricity with 95% less material," Rob explains. Windlift's tethered drones fly at 400 feet, generating power without towers or massive infrastructure. Can this technology scale beyond defense applications? Rob shares why he's willing to risk everything for climate solutions that protect the Minnesota wilderness where his nephew can no longer play pond hockey. Rob Creighton is the Founder and CEO of Windlift, which he established in 2006 after discovering Miles Lloyd's pioneering research on airborne wind energy. With a BS in Genetics and an MBA in Strategic Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rob worked as a biologist on the Human Genome Project before pivoting to clean energy innovation. Based in Durham, North Carolina, he has secured over $30 million in contracts with the Naval Research Laboratory and Pentagon, developing tethered autonomous drones that generate electricity with 95% less material than traditional turbines, serving both military and commercial applications. In This Episode: (00:00) Rob Creighton - from mapping human genome to airborne wind (02:45) Windlift's technology explained, tethered drones generating power at altitude (05:28) Peak oil concerns and discovery of Miles Lloyd's groundbreaking paper (10:07) Challenges of airborne wind energy, learning from Makani's failure (15:06) Defense market strategy and working with Pentagon operational energy (19:39) Personal commitment to climate action and wilderness preservation Share with someone who would enjoy this topic, like and

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Resilient Energy, Anywhere is an episode from Raising Your Antenna by Keith Zakheim.

This episode is 00:23:02 long.

This episode was published on Jan 13, 2026.

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