Minesto’s Dragon Class tidal power plant (Courtesy of Minesto)

Minesto’s tidal energy kite reaches new heights in Faroe Islands

Swedish company Minesto has marked one month of continuous production at record levels with its Dragon 4 tidal energy kite in Faroe Islands, as it advances the preparations for the installation of a new device.

Minesto’s Dragon Class tidal power plant (Courtesy of Minesto)
Minesto’s Dragon Class tidal power plant (Courtesy of Minesto)
Minesto’s Dragon Class tidal power plant (Courtesy of Minesto)

In the beginning of 2023, the 100kW Dragon Class tidal power plant in Minesto’s grid-connected site in Vestmanna has delivered the highest total production volume for a continuous month of operation, as well as increased peak output levels, the Swedish company informed.

Power production follows the four tidal cycles per day, with generation reaching up to 200kWh per tide.

Having completed the offshore infrastructure works to double the capacity at the Vestmanna site in December 2022, Minesto is now getting ready to install the second 100kW Dragon Class kite.

The dual setup offers parallel long-term production and configuration testing, which will start with the introduction of an upgraded tether that will contribute to improvement to the system’s output – primarily from an annual production volume perspective, according to Minesto.

The tether upgrade is being implemented as a part of the ongoing tether optimization project in collaboration with Swedish Energy Agency.

Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto, said: “We are where we need to be to provide valid evidence of yearly production yield for Dragon Class systems suitable for our first targeted arrays in Hestfjord and other locations. Our understanding of how to match a tidal site with a certain kite configuration is now solid.”

To remind, Minesto and Faroese utility company SEV renewed and expanded the collaboration agreement related to tidal energy buildout in the Faroe Islands back in January 2023.

The agreement outlines the expanded operation at the existing Vestmanna tidal energy production site, and more importantly, includes an add-on to the extended agreement which stipulates the exclusive nature of the collaboration regarding the Hestfjord site development and build-out.

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