Ocean energy may be the wave of the future

A new system which turns tidal streams and ocean currents into electricity could revolutionise the Faroese energy industry.

So claims Swedish marine energy technology developer Minesto, which has been trialling ocean current energy systems in the Faroes since early 2020.

Based on these trials, the company believes that by expanding the trial system, tidal streams and ocean currents could generate up to 40 percent of Faroese electricity needs.

Minesto started the trial project together with national energy supplier SEV by installing two so-called Deep Green kites in the Vestmannasund strait between Streymoy and Vágar.

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The system produces electricity from slow tidal streams and ocean currents by sweeping small turbines across a large area at a speed several times the actual speed of the underwater current.

In its expansion plan, Minesto has specified four areas in the Faroes that it particularly well-suited for ocean current energy production: Hestfjørður, Leirvíksfjørður, Skopunarfjørður and Svínoyarfjørður.

Planning for this expansion is underway.

“Tidal resources in the Faroes are among the best in the world, and we are very excited about this project,” Minesto CEO Martin Edlund said in 2019 ahead of the pilot project launch.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.