Tidal Kite: Better Than Wind- Or Solarpower?

Published at : 23 Dec 2025

It's time for some good news from the world of science: Swedish company Minesto has developed a technology for generating electricity that is said to be significantly cheaper than most other types of power plant. It is a kite that produces electricity under water with the help of ocean and tidal currents. In fact, it is already in use: On the Faroe Islands, such a tidal kite with an output of 1.2 MW is in operation. According to the company, an output of 600 GW could be achieved worldwide with the kite. That is almost twice as much as the output of all nuclear power plants worldwide combined.

In this video, we’re talking about how the tidal kiteworks, what hurdles the technology could still face and how much it can contribute to the energy generation of the future

This video was created by my editorial team. Responsible from the editorial team:
Lukas Laroche, Tabea Desch, Jacob Beautemps, Maximilian Latz; Editing: Sören Rensch, Neo Sanjuan Thiele & Aron Kamenz.

Sources:

Source 1: https://minesto.com/
Source 2: https://minesto.com/our-technology/
Source 3: https://minesto.com/ocean-energy/
Source 4: https://minesto.com/news/project-update-vestmanna-dragon-12-functionality-verified-and-power-production-performance-satisfactory-and-as-projected/
Source 5: https://minesto.com/news/minesto-evolves-its-faroese-business-case-upgrading-to-a-200-mw-tidal-energy-buildout/
Source 6: https://minesto.com/news/installation-of-dragon-12-seabed-anchor-completed-successfully/ Source 7: https://minesto.com/news/minesto-completes-build-and-functional-testing-of-sea-bed-connection-system-for-the-1-2-megawatt-powerplant-dragon-12/
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Source 9: https://www.leifiphysik.de/mechanik/stroemungslehre/grundwissen/dynamischer-auftrieb-und-crma-wert
Source 10: https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2020/Dec/IRENA_Innovation_Outlook_Ocean_Energy_2020.pdf
Source 11: https://minesto.com/news/minestos-technology-transforms-ocean-energy-into-one-of-the-most-cost-effective-energy-resources-new-cost-of-energy-analysis-states/
Source 12: https://www.geothermie.de/bibliothek/lexikon-der-geothermie/l/lcoe-stromgestehungskosten.html#:~:text=Stromgestehungskosten%20(engl.,oder%20Dollar%20je%20Megawattstunde%20angegeben.
Source 13: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/de/documents/publications/studies/DE2021_ISE_Studie_Stromgestehungskosten_Erneuerbare_Energien.pdf
Source 14: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/239764/umfrage/weltweiter-stromverbrauch/ Source 15: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278434317304673
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Source 18: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2019.0491
Source 19: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/kitefor.html
Source 20: https://www.wind-energie.de/themen/anlagentechnik/konstruktiver-aufbau/fundament/ Source 21: https://www.nabu.de/natur-und-landschaft/meere/offshore-windparks/12138.html
Source 22: https://www.bfn.de/sites/default/files/BfN/service/Dokumente/skripten/skript_366.pdf
Source 23: https://bwo-offshorewind.de/category/offshore-windenergie/natur-und-artenschutz/schallschutz/
Source 24: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Studie-Offshore-Windparks-gefaehrden-Schweinswal-Population,schweinswale184.html
Source 25: https://www.geothermie.de/bibliothek/lexikon-der-geothermie/g/grundlast
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