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Are there any realistic power generation options from tidal/ocean power? Seems like that might be great for Hawaii — if it isn’t still the realm of science fict

• gumby 6y ago
  It’s still impossible to do on a practical basis. Fortunately there are still people working on it.
• zdragnar 6y ago
  Most tidal I am familiar with capable of generating anything approaching reasonable amounts causes significant ecosystem impacts- you basically replace entire shorelines with concrete bunkers that act as a crappy gravity battery (you can get significant mass from the water, but not much lift from the tide). I think most research is focused on utilizing less unique space- rooftops, open plains, open ocean. Shorelines are tiny spaces for how ecologically unique they are, plus they tend to be highly desirable for other human uses as well.
• tidalpowercool 6y ago
  I saw a marketing video for one company that was deploying a prototype to do this a few days ago. I'm unable to remember the name or find a link. I think it was somewhere in oceania that they were installing the protoype in. The unit looked sort of like (this)[https://imgur.com/a/ymulbWF https://imgur.com/a/ymulbWF] but wider and in hd of course. By wider I mean it looked more like a catamaran style boat and the one in the imgur link is more like a monohull boat. The one in the video which they deployed maybe 15-30 yards off shore from a beach was where they installed it and it had branding from their company on the side and some bright yellow accents.
• TylerE 6y ago
  Hawaii is actually pretty worse case for tidal power. You want a narrow estuary with a high tidal swing. Think fjords and similar formations.