What do you get if you cross a foil with a turbine?

Tuesday
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Mr Milk
Mr Milk
NSW
3141 posts
NSW, 3141 posts
23 Jun 2026 10:04am
It turns out that you get a tidal power electricity generator.
The Faroe Islands has been using the Minesto Dragon for the last couple of years, but I only came across it last night.
Interesting system. It tethers a marine glider and lets it fly in figure 8s across the tidestream. That gives it enough speed to run a turbine at the back of the glider in currents as slow as 0.5m/s, generating up to 1.2MW.
This is the best video I've found



Only obvious problem I can see beyond corrosion is that it would be a real whale hazard, unlike offshore wind turbines
Rango
Rango
WA
867 posts
WA, 867 posts
23 Jun 2026 3:43pm
It'll never .Take Off! boom boom.
Youngbreezy
Youngbreezy
WA
1262 posts
WA, 1262 posts
26 Jun 2026 8:43am
The amount of energy that could be harnessed from tidal and wave power is huge, world changing! Also with tides being predictable and reliable that would alleviate some of the intermittence that is a problem with wind and solar.

I think the main reason we don’t see a lot more tide or wave power is because it’s difficult and expensive to install and maintain. Machinery and electronics underwater have a ton of things that could go wrong with them
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