Ocean energy developer, Minesto, has signed a collaboration agreement with the Research Center for Ocean Energy and Strategies (RCOES) at National Taiwan Ocean University on Thursday.
Within the scope of the collaboration agreement, Minesto and RCOES will explore the potential for Minesto’s Deep Green technology in Taiwan.
The collaboration will gradually increase in scale and scope, starting with the installation of a quarter scale Deep Green power plant at an existing RCOES test site in Keelung. This joint demonstration project will allow Minesto and RCOES to perform long-term testing of the Deep Green technology in Taiwanese tidal streams, Minesto explained.
“We are delighted to have come to this agreement with the RCOES. This is an important milestone in the commercialization of the Deep Green technology and a breakthrough on a market with substantial potential to Minesto,” said Dr Martin Edlund , CEO of Minesto. “For successful local commercialization of a marine energy technology such as ours, it is very important that local research expertise get the opportunity to research and verify the technology. That research will also make a significant contribution to the further technology development of the Deep Green concept.”
As a second phase of the collaboration between Minesto and RCOES, potential sites for commercial scale installation of the Deep Green technology will be developed. Considerable progress in this have already been made, as some potential test sites have been identified. At these sites, Deep Green would be exploiting low-velocity, continuous ocean currents.
What makes Taiwan a high-interest market to Minesto is that Deep Green could be deployed in both tidal streams and continuous ocean currents. Studies show that the combined local potential of tidal and ocean currents could satisfy as much as 50 per cent of Taiwan’s future electricity demand, the company said.
“We see great opportunities for RCOES and the development of ocean energy in Taiwan in this collaboration with Minesto. To us, it is of highest interest to develop methods and best practices on renewable electricity production from the rich ocean resource which surrounds Taiwan. This collaboration has a tremendous opportunity to, in the long-term, be a significant part in a sustainable transition of the energy system in Taiwan,” said Prof Jiahn-Horng Chen , Systems Engineering and Naval Architecture at National Taiwan Ocean University and deputy director of RCOES .