Underwater kite-turbine scheme

A £25m tidal energy project which works through moving “kites” underwater is being launched on Anglesey. Swedish firm Minesto wants to harness power under the sea off the coast of Holyhead. It will set up its UK offices there and hopes to become a manufacturing centre, creating more jobs there.

The so-called Deep Green technology works on the principle that underwater “kites” can reach speeds 10 times faster than the current. This works in the same way a kite flies faster than the wind, and the firm says 10 times higher speed gives 1,000 times more power. Off the coast, the Deep Green device will operate at least 15m below the surface and can still create enough power to make it worthwhile, even though the current is of a low velocity.

Anglesey renewable energy project will generate enough electricity to power 8,000 homes. The unique renewable energy scheme involving underwater “kite-turbines” is part of the £25m project where 20 turbines will be anchored off Anglesey and when fully operational should be able to generate enough electricity to power 8,000 homes. Initially 30 jobs will be created but if the system works well, the Swedish company behind it, Minesto, believes hundreds more could follow. The Welsh government is keen to promote wave and tidal energy and find ways of bringing skilled jobs to places like Anglesey.

Minesto has been testing the kite turbine system in Strangford Loch in Northern Ireland. It has chosen for the permanent Welsh site a southern corner of a stretch of water called Holyhead Deep. Weighing seven tonnes and operating at least 15 metres below the water surface, each kite carries a turbine below it. The kite is tethered by a cable to the sea floor and then “flies” in the tidal stream. It swoops round in a figure-of-eight shape to increase the speed of the water flowing through the turbine. This means the kite can generate renewable electricity in tidal streams that would be too slow to drive the first-generation tidal devices, the company said. The site has been chosen to maintain separation from shipping lanes and to minimize impact on other sea users

Minesto’s plans are to set up headquarters in Holyhead this year, where design, marketing and sales will take place followed by manufacturing in 2016. It hopes that by 2019 it will be employing 120 people in a wide range of jobs from engineering, sales, and research and development as a new industry forms around Holyhead.

Anglesey is being developed under the banner Energy Island, with plans for the Wylfa Newydd nuclear investment and a range of renewable projects at its centre. The island’s council says the programme could contribute nearly £12 billion to the wider economy of north Wales over the next 15 years and describes it as a “once in a generation” opportunity to boost the economy. First Minister Carwyn Jones, said: “This investment will not only help create greener and more efficient sources of energy, but will also create jobs and vital opportunities for growth in north Wales.”

Anders Jansson, chief executive of Minesto, said: “Establishing Minesto UK Headquarters in north Wales is a strategic decision that can make Wales a global leader within marine energy.”

For more information please visit: http://minesto.com

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