A small "kite" that's flown under water is boldly going where
no
tidal turbine has gone before.
“Deep Green” looks like someone’s flying kites from the sea floor. With its 12-meter (39-foot) wingspan and 100-meter (328-foot) cable tethering it to the ocean floor, all it’s missing is a colorful tail.
Though a nearly 40-foot wingspan may seem big, the kites are small compared to other tidal energy designs. That’s one of the big advantages to Deep Green: it can operate at greater depths, where currents are slower.
WATCH VIDEO: Underwater turbines are cropping up all over the seafloor.
When anchored, Deep Green can be steered into a figure eight like a sport kite, its turbine capturing tidal energy at ten times the speed of the actual stream velocity, according to Minesto, the Swedish developers of Deep Green. One Deep Green sea kite is expected to generate 500 kilowatts of power, enough to power a modern refrigerator for a year.
But hold on to your Pop Tarts. It will be a few years before sea kites power your toaster. Testing is scheduled to start in Northern Ireland in 2011. Minesto hopes to have a commercial model of Deep Green out in four years.
As fossil fuels dwindle, the need for renewable energy sources
becomes clear; scientists have even drawn up plans to power the planet with
purely renewable energy. More and more companies are working with solar, wind
and tidal power. Tidal turbines’ main drawback is their cost, but the
predictability of the tides makes up for it. When wind farms and solar panels
get skunked on calm, cloudy days, the tides still come in like clockwork.
Image: Artist's conception, Deep Green
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