OIST turbine set to harness Japanese tides

Scientists from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) are designing a tidal turbine that could harness the energy of the Kuroshio Current flowing along the Japanese coast.

The Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit at OIST have designed a turbine that comprises a float, a counterweight, a nacelle to house electricity-generating components, and three blades.

The OIST design is a hybrid of a kite and a wind turbine – an ocean-current turbine is anchored to seabed with a line and floats in the current while water rotates its three blades.

The OIST team, led by Tsumoru Shintake, Head of the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit, built a prototype turbine and conducted various experiments to test its design and configuration.

Results confirmed the robustness and stability of the turbine construction, and the achieved efficiency is comparable to that of commercial wind turbines, according to OIST.

The turbine design can be scaled up or down, depending on local conditions and needs, and is especially suitable for regions regularly devastated by storms and typhoons, such as Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines, OIST states.

“Our design is simple, reliable, and power-efficient,” says Katsutoshi Shirasawa, a staff scientist in the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit. Shirasawa and his colleagues aspire to build an energy farm featuring 300 turbines 80 m in diameter, according to OIST.

The expected output is about 1 GW, capable of powering over 400,000 homes.

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