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Deep Green has resulted in several successful tests that Minesto say suggest that tidal kite technology could increase tidal power by eighty percent. In theory, these kites can operate in deep water where low tidal velocities make ineffective other, more traditional forms of tidal energy platforms.
Essentially, the Deep Green tidal kites will be tethered to the ocean floor and, using kinetic energy and automatic rudders, will fly in figure eights with the oceanic tides. Because water is eight hundred times as dense as air, these kites technically could produce eight hundred times the energy as wind turbines. Eventually, tidal kite farms could significantly increase green energy across the world if Minesto is successful.
Image courtesy of Minesto
So, what’s the next step? Well, the company plans to tether a prototype kite off the coast of Ireland in 2011, presuming all the tests run smoothly for the remainder of 2010 . This plan comes on the heels of the company’s having received funding from a Saab, Midroc New Technology, and BGA Invest, in addition to other private investors. Barring any problems, the company will then put a test farm off the coast of Ireland in 2012 and connect it to the Northern Ireland grid. Chief Executive of Minesto, Anders Jansson, hopes to eventually expand service to all of Ireland.
The example of Minesto and companies like it suggest that the oceans will certainly be the next frontier in green energy research and development. We have already seen other projects take shape, such as wave power generators and other tidal generators. All that remains for Minesto’s continued success is that the company must receive approval from the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, and it must also deal with the challenge of adapting the system into a commercially viable one.
But, if we know anything about Saab’s past success in aeronautics and automobile technology, we can expect to see this new venture swim, rather than sink.
For more information, watch Minesto’s video on the Deep Green system here.
