3 ms·
I don’t understand why they’re using wind over tidal energy. Surely a similar scale tidal power farm would be preferable to felling 16M trees?
by gareth_untether 3y ago
I don’t understand why they’re using wind over tidal energy. Surely a similar scale tidal power farm would be preferable to felling 16M trees?
- foota 3y agoIsn't tidal energy largely untested compared to wind energy?
- jacquesm 3y agoTidal has been tried many times in small settings. A couple of observations: - players in the 'tidal' renewable space are excellent at consuming subsidies, not so good at making (net) power - tidal installations designed to work for a decade typically work for a few weeks, months at best without on site repairs or outright failure - moving water carries momentum to the point that it is a very fine line between power extraction and equipment failure - salt water under pressure is a hostile environment Making a wind turbine with a nacelle a good 75 meters above the sea live under those conditions is already pretty hard. Doing the same with an immersed generator below the surface of the sea is extremely hard. I've yet to see a tidal energy installation that I found credible, and besides, the real movement in the tides is only a few hours per day at best. Yes, there is energy in the tides. Lots of it. But it's hard to harvest economically, and if it were the only option I'd say keep trying, but we have better and cheaper options already.