The main contribution of this paper is to indicate the economical viability of a Pumping Kite (PK) system as an airborne wind energy approach for large-scale electricity generation. In our study case a 2 MW PK unit is compared to a horizontal-axis 3-bladed Wind Turbine (WT) of same rated power. The PK airfoil area corresponds to the area of the 3 blades, and the same aerodynamic characteristics were assumed. The PK capacity factor obtained is 45%, compared to 31 % of the WT. Given conservative PK cost estimates we found the investment in a PK-based wind farm can be 74% of that in a conventional wind farm. By adding 13 PKs to an existing wind farm with 21 WTs the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) practically doubles, whereas if each WT is replaced by a PK, the IRR is approximately multiplied by 3. We also show that PK wind farms can be economically attractive in locations where WTs are not. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.