Power-hungry, fossil fuel dependent Japan has successfully tested a system that could provide a constant, steady form of renewable energy, regardless of the wind or the sun.
For more than a decade, Japanese heavy machinery maker IHI has been developing a subsea turbine that harnesses the energy in deep ocean currents, and converts it into a steady and reliable source of electricity. The giant machine resembles an airplane, with two counterrotating turbine fans in place of jets and a central “fuselage” housing a buoyancy adjustment system.
Called “Kairyu,” the 330 tonne prototype is designed to be anchored to the sea