Minesto hits a snag with Dragon 4 tidal energy kite’s offshore trials

Swedish company Minesto has retrieved its Dragon 4 tidal energy unit in Faroe Islands, amid interruption of electricity production during tests in Vesmanna.

Minesto has for 10 days carried out a load test during electricity production with a new potentially performance-enhancing subsystem for its Dragon 4 tidal energy device.

On June 11, the production was interrupted, and an unplanned surface recovery was successfully carried out with Minesto’s local installation partner.

“Unplanned production stops are unwanted but a natural consequence of the load tests we carry out to verify and push the load limits at maximized production. The Dragon 4 is now undergoing analysis, service and preparations for re-installation,” said Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto.

During the summer, Minesto carries out a series of load tests with new system configurations to increase and secure the Dragon 4 system performance and robustness when exposed to high loads at maximal tidal stream velocities.

To remind, Minesto installed Dragon 4 and generated the first electricity at the newly added second foundation in Vestmannasund in March 2023.

Early in summer 2022, Minesto deployed the first 100kW Dragon Class unit in Faroe Islands, after which it started to commission the second tidal plant, which was completed in September.

Since, Minesto’s second Dragon 4 unit delivered a record-breaking results in terms of total electricity generated, peak performance, and energy conversion at large.

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