Modec Inc., a maker of floating oil platforms, and the Saga Prefectural Government have announced they will conduct this autumn the world's first experiment to generate electricity from a combination of tidal and wind systems.
The combination is expected to help increase stability and efficiency of power production from alternative sources. The 60-meter floating apparatus comprises a windmill above the waves and a tidal waterwheel beneath the surface, they announced Thursday.
This coupling could prove useful if an earthquake or other disaster cuts off the external power source that a typical windmill needs to boot up.
After machinery with an output capacity of 500 kw is tested for around one year, power transmission is expected to start in fall 2014.
The equipment, to be installed around 1 km northwest of the city of Karatsu, may be leased to local fishermen who could sell the power, according to the company and the prefecture.