Tidal Energy Pty Ltd animation

Actually a very good place to dive is the wrecks off Guam -- just a thought -- in terms of benefiting sea life.

One time in a documentary about building the Golden Gate Bridge they said, "It's as though the energy of the entire Pacific Ocean is crashing upon the one-mile opening of the Golden Gate" -- just a thought!

what´s the minimum water flow speed in order for a cost-effective turbine to work and generate power? Do you know any providers who could answer my question?

Thanks for your answers. I've recently started researching tidal power as there are marine turbines planned to go in the Kaipara harbour near where I live. I'm very interested in the pros and cons of this technology, most especially it's effect on the marine flora and fauna. Could you recommend some good information resources?

what got me intrested in this was the opening of the tidal hydro plant in ireland in strangford lough, thankyou for your reply , it is new to generate power in this way but years ago maybe 200 they were running a grinding mill around this location powered by tidal or moon power I find the whole thing exciting and if i was going to higher education i would study this

The tidal plant in Strangford Lough is the old fashioned propellor on a stick - ours is the advanced jet engine type capable of 3-4 times the power from the same size. I would recommend a career in this industry - I wish you well!!!

yeah,thanks ,I think it is a great thing to harness the energy .Would the sea bed silt up from the slowing down of the water? I am trying to get a good handle on this

That's another fine question.
Science in general understands the nature of marine geomorphology, but not much is know about the impact of this emerging technology on silting despite understanding the nature of the flow and what the causes and effects are.

In some instance we want to take energy from the flow where it erodes river banks impacting negatively on our built environment - on the other hand we don't want to reduce the flow and cause a build up of silt and reduce the flush of normal flows.
It really depends on the site conditions as they vary from site to site. Each site has to be evaluated on it's own merits.

would it munch up the fish??

Yeah - fish swim in one end and come out in cans of tune the other !!!

Seriously your question is a very good one - thank you for asking.

In reality the turbine turns very slowly at around 25 - 30 r.p.m. but produces massive torque. Even the sickest guppy could swim out of the way. The real benefit - besides the power - is to the natural ecosystem as anything you place in the water becomes habitat - so there is a net plus to the natural eco system.

I hope this answers your question.