Minesto Claims Record Tidal Energy Output After Power System Upgrade

Minesto says its Dragon 4 tidal power plant delivered record electricity generation over the summer at Vestmannasund in the Faroe Islands, following an upgrade to the plant's power-take-off system, the mechanism that converts the kinetic energy of the underwater kite's movement into electricity. The company did not disclose specific output figures, capacity ratings, or a quantified percentage improvement from the upgrade in the announcement, instead pointing to a power production graph comparing daily output before and after the change.

 

According to Minesto, tidal flows at the Vestmanna site proved stronger than historically modelled, creating more energy potential than the plant's original power-take-off system was designed to capture. The company's engineering team developed a more powerful replacement system in response, which it says has improved energy capture throughout the full tidal flow cycle while also reducing system costs, though no specific cost figures were provided.

 

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Chief Technology Officer Bernt Erik Westre said the production data shows the upgraded system tracking the intensity of tidal currents at the site more closely than the previous configuration, with both compared datasets generated by the same Dragon 4 unit, known as "Saga," during the second and third quarters of this year, with the power-take-off system as the only hardware difference between the two periods.

 

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Chief executive Martin Edlund described the results as demonstrating what the company believes to be the most efficient tidal energy power plant in the world in terms of energy conversion performance, a claim based on the company's own performance data rather than independent third-party verification. Edlund said the production performance aligned with the company's simulation models, and that the demonstrated performance level had increased the commercial value of Minesto's intellectual property related to its Dragon hardware and software.