Operators of navigation beacons have been searching for self-contained energy sources, as it is difficult to supply buoys in the ocean from the commercial power net. Solar, wind and wave-powered renewable energy mechanisms have been developed for navigation buoys. The advantage of tidal currents over other renewable energy sources is they are independent of the weather, so the available power can be calculated. In this paper, a Darrieus-type water turbine using the energy in the local tidal current was developed as energy conversion device for powering a navigation buoy, and the characteristics of the water turbine were observed in a water channel experiment. The energy converter of the electric power generation system was installed in a buoy in a pilot project in the Akashi Strait in Japan. As the result, the changes in generated electric power with current speed were observed. Sufficient energy was obtained from the tidal currents to operate this navigation buoy.
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