The kite, which at full size will have a wingspan of 8-14 metres, carries a turbine below it. The kite is tethered by a cable to the sea floor and then "flies" in the tidal stream. It swoops round in a figure-of-eight shape to increase the speed of the water flowing through the turbine tenfold, just as sailing boat cuts across the wind to go faster.
That manoeuvre means the kite can generate renewable electricity in tidal streams that would be too slow to drive the first-generation tidal devices, such as the SeaGen turbine also installed in Strangford Loch. The kite has neutral buoyancy, so doesn't sink as the tide turns and the turbine mouth is protected to stop fish flying through.
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices peak, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercializations. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the 2009 economic crisis better than many other sectors.
Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight,wind,tides and geothermal heat, as the International Energy Agency explains Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly.
In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources.
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