Minesto’s Underwater Kite Turbine To Tap Tidal Energy

Minesto, a Swedish company, has developed an underwater kite-turbine, by adopting the ‎go with the flow concept, to tap tidal energy.‎

The first sea trials of the underwater kite are slated to be held at Strangford Lough in ‎Northern Ireland this summer. The kite, with a wingspan of 8-14 meters at full size, ‎carries a turbine under it. The kite is connected by a cable to the sea floor and follows the ‎tidal stream. It swoops around forming a figure-of-eight to increase the velocity of the ‎water flowing through the turbine tenfold, similar to a sailing boat cutting across the wind ‎to move faster.‎

In the process the kite generates renewable electricity present in tidal streams. The initial ‎effort would be too slow to drive the first-generation tidal devices, such as the SeaGen ‎turbine installed in Strangford Loch. The neutral buoyancy permits the kite to stay afloat, ‎without sinking. The tide turns and the turbine mouth is protected to stop fish flying ‎through.‎

The kite is designed to work in flows of 1-2.5 meters per second, while first-generation ‎devices would need over 2.5m/s. Being dependent on the location and size of the kites, ‎each would generate power between 150 and 800kW. The units will be deployed in ‎waters 50-300m deep. The test will be at one tenth scale.‎