Minesto’s Deep Green Gravity Base Structure Half Way Done

Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has informed that the gravity base structure for Minesto’s underwater kite technology, Deep Green, has been 50 per cent complete.

The concrete base is a part of the €30 million underwater kite project to be installed in Holyhead Deep, 6.5 km off the coast of Anglesey.

The trial will see one 0.5 MW generator installed and operated in 2018 to demonstrate the technology. Minesto is seeking to, in the long term, generate 80MW at the site, enough to power 70,000 homes.

The concrete base, which is being constructed at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead Docks, will be hollow on the inside to allow it to be floated up the River Mersey and across the North Wales coast. It’s cells will then be filled with water to lower it to the bottom of the sea.

Once the structure is at the bottom of the sea a Minesto device will be secured to a mooring structure on the foundation, the company explained.

Jones Bros project manager Eryl Evans said: “This is a complex structure that is progressing well and on schedule.

“To add to the challenges, we’re building this foundation 12 meters deep in a dock. This has meant all materials and machines including plant have been lifted in by a crane.

“We’re using approximately 465 m3 of concrete and the final structure will weigh close to 1,300 tonnes.

“We’re excited to be a part of what will be a significant maritime renewable energy project in North Wales.”

Minesto secured a €13m investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh European Funding Office in May 2015, for the commercial rollout of its Deep Green technology.

Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto, said: “We are well positioned to meet time frames and deliverables towards our public funding partners, to demonstrate the unique advantages of the Deep Green technology, and to develop this required source of renewable energy.”