A Swedish company has developed a revolutionary new way to provide clean electricity for a group of islands aiming for completely sustainable energy.
The company, Minesto, has developed the Dragon 12, which is similar to an underwater kite. The idea for the Dragon 12 was sparked by the way in which kites tend to move in a figure eight pattern and exceed the speed of the wind, as CleanTechnica reported.
When placed in water, the Dragon 12 travels in a figure eight, which accelerates the flow of water over its wings and multiplies the output of its turbine, according to the news outlet. It's capable of an output of 1.2 megawatts. That's about a third of the output of the average offshore wind turbine, but the Dragon 12 is also smaller, cheaper, and easier to install, noted CleanTechnica.
Minesto expects the levelized cost of electricity, which is effectively the minimum a company can charge for electricity and break even, to be much lower than that of the average offshore wind turbine, so the energy would presumably be much cheaper for customers, too.
The Dragon 12 has been commissioned to provide energy for the Faroe Islands, a small archipelago in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway. The Faroes aim to use 100% clean on-shore electricity by 2030, and the Dragon 12 is just a part of the plan.
The Faroes already use wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, all of which reduce the need for dirty energy that contributes to the overheating of the planet.
If the Dragon 12 proves effective, it could be a huge step toward making clean energy even more affordable to produce and cheaper for customers.
"What the Minesto team has achieved today is extraordinary and set a new agenda for renewable energy build-out in many areas of the world," Minesto CEO Dr. Martin Edlund said. "[The Dragon 12] is powerful, cost effective, and feeds predictable electricity to the grid."
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet.
Cool Picks
