Minesto, a leading marine energy developer has announced that the site development of the world’s first tidal energy kite array in Hestfjord, Faroe Islands, is proceeding smoothly. The array’s planned overall output is around 30 MW, which includes twenty-four 1.2 MW kite systems. The annual yield of the site is estimated to be 84 GWh*, which is equivalent to 20 per cent of the total Faroese energy consumption in 2021.
The assessment work done comprises environmental assessment studies, infield cable routing, and grid connection work, among other areas of the site development. The next step is to finish the first four kites’ installation configuration for the first 5 MW phase and secure onshore service assets. The site development project is a partnership between the government of the Faroe Islands, utility provider SEV, and technology developer Minesto. The University of the Faroe Islands has additionally participated in the preliminary site assessment work. SEV, a partner of Minesto, is upgrading the distribution grid for Torshavn, the capital city, which is 10 km away.
Minesto was founded in 2007 and has operations in Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Wales, Northern Ireland and Taiwan. The major shareholders in Minesto are BGA Invest and Corespring New Technology. The company is a leading marine energy technology company with the mission to minimise the global carbon footprint of the energy industry by enabling commercial power production from the ocean.
