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I know, who cares about Tidal Energy when Milo Yiannopoulos is leaving Breitbart. However, did you know that billions of tons of agua are swept up and down Europe’s yummy estuaries and beautiful coastlines each and every day?
Nerdy engineers have been working diligently to develop the technologies to tap into this insane store of tidal energy and are now predicting a ramp-up in production from 2020 and on………….
A Swedish company named “Minesto” is working diligently on an under agua kite that generates electricity from tidal and ocean currents. ‘Ocean energy is reliable, predictable energy, it has a lot of advantages,’ said Per Salomonsson, an engineer at the company, who is helping design the technology.
So, what is the issue?
The EU’s renewable energy directive sets a binding target that 20 % of energy must come from renewable sources by 2020 and at least 27 % by 2030.
Given the enormous potential, the European Commission has supported ocean energy research since the 1980s with more than EUR 55 million in funding.
The kite operates at least 20 meters below the beautiful ocean surface where a cable steers it through the current in order to maximise the power generated by a turbine on its underside. The concept is to construct arrays of up to hundreds of individual kites.
The concept, known as Deep Green, was first invented by an engineer at the Swedish aerospace company Saab before developing into a stand-alone company – Minesto – 10 years ago.
‘Deep Green is the only known technology that exploits low-velocity tidal streams,’ added Salomonsson, explaining that this means it can be used much more widely than other tidal energy devices.
I hope that Trump wants to invest in eco friendly businesses. The kite is one of several tidal energy technologies that engineers believe will become commercially viable in the next few years.
There is also a floating platform that is being trialled at the world’s first marine energy test facility, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), which was set up on the Illustrious Scottish Island of Orkney in 2003.
Get ready for Mesmerizing Speed!
Speaking at an ocean energy conference on 8 November in Brussels, Belgium, Karmenu Vella, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said: ‘Experience from offshore wind shows that developing mature and efficient technologies takes time. But once they reach that crucial tipping point, they can take off with mesmerizing speed.’
Before beautifu ocean energy makes a notable contribution to the energy mix, national governments and the EU still have to help establish the market. Trust me, this will happen soon.
The world is ready for Tidal Energy to go Commercial!
Tags: EU,europe,green energy,ocean,tidla energy
