The company SeaQurrent has developed a spectacular technique to convert the flow energy of the water into electricity. A scale model of the ‘TidalKite’ has already been tested in the laboratory. Ameland gets the scoop for the first full-scale test. This also examines whether there are any ecological effects.
Preparations
After successful completion of an ecological study, a test location was realized in July 2021 in the Borndiep with a connection to the Ameland electricity grid. Liander has pulled a cable under the dike for this purpose. Unfortunately, the poles in the Wadden Sea were broken off by an autumn storm. These were replaced in 2022. In 2022, several tests took place with the TidalKite on land. In 2024, the first tests were conducted at the Borndiep test site.
About the TidalKite
The TidalKite is a metal underwater kite measuring 12 by 8 meters. Just like a kite in the air, this colossus generates a pulling force when it flies from left to right through the water (with strokes of about 100 meters long). That pulling power is converted into electricity and supplied directly to the power grid. A major advantage is the predictability of the tide, and therefore of energy production: summer and winter, day and night. See also the information on the SeaQurrent website.
Background tidal energy
Ameland has long wanted to generate energy from the movement of the tide (ebb and flow). Between the islands, every time a huge amount of water flows into the Wadden Sea at high tide and out again at low tide. In terms of quantity: about ten times as much as flows from Dutch rivers into the sea!
