Unlike other forms of renewable energy, wave power has proven to be the most complex and hard to implement, but it can stop the global dependence on fossil fuels for power if it will be harnessed. A spinoff from the Swedish military and aircraft design firm Saab, Minesto has developed a new concept of underwater wave energy using a simple 7 ton kite turbine design. Exactly like a kite in the wind, the Deep Green underwater turbine collects and stores the power of the ocean.
The new system will be able to power 4 million British households with green electricity. Originally, the concept was developed as a wind turbine, but later the inventors believed that the system would actually work better in water, which unlike air, it is about 832 times more denser.
The underwater kite swings in a repeating pattern, where the first stage increases the relative flow speed entering the turbine. When the tide hits the wing it turns down, which creates a lift force. The underwater turbine will be controlled by a rudder and tethered to the ocean floor.
According to the company each megawatt-worth of kite(s) would weigh 14 tons, being able to generate about 1MW of energy and the power generated could be sold for somewhere between $0.09 cents and $0.20 cents per kWh. British waters detain about half of the potential, with the ocean moving an average of 1 to 2 metres per second between 60 and 120 metres below the surface.
