The Swedish tidal energy device developer Minesto has revealed its latest technology using underwater kites to produce clean electricity. Unlike other similar systems, the new technology, called Deep Green, is capable of operating in slower currents.
The Carbon Trust will provide £350,000 ($570,000) for trials off the coast of Northern Ireland. As the company said, the turbines are carried by structures that resemble kites, all of them linked to the seabed. They also accelerate the speed of the water entering the turbine by up to ten times. This way, more energy will be generated.
Due to this technology, the costs of producing tidal energy will be dramatically reduced. Minesto also wants to install many devices around the UK’s coastline to produce about 530 GW a year by 2020, being enough to provide electricity for all households in a city approximately the size of Newcastle.
“Minesto’s Deep Green is a very exciting technology as it could provide a step change reduction in the cost of tidal energy and open up swathes of the UK’s coast to generating electricity. Tidal energy has the potential to produce up to 18 terawatt hours of electricity, equivalent to over 5% of the UK’s electricity consumption,” said Carbon Trust director of innovations, Benj Sykes.
