Skepticism on tidal energy projects

Scotsman:

THE race to develop Scotland's seas into the "Saudi Arabia of marine power" is about to start, with plans for 500 underwater turbines in the Pentland Firth.

The Scotsman can reveal that an Australian company is already preparing a serious bid for the huge tidal farm that it says will power one million homes.

Atlantis Resources wants to be the first to take advantage of an imminent decision by the Crown Estate, which owns the seabed, to invite firms to build in the powerful seas off the north coast.

But as Alex Salmond, the First Minister, pins his hopes on tidal power answering Scotland's energy crisis and providing a huge boost to the economy, an expert has warned that politicians are "living on a different planet" if they think the technology will provide the answers.

Dr Tony Trapp, whose company built one of the first tidal devices, told The Scotsman the issue of renewable energy was based on "faith not science". He said four companies in the UK that had tried to develop tidal energy had still not achieved any output.

"It has completely conned the politicians from all parties and the worst people who are being conned are in Scotland," he said. "They've been conned hugely."

Such doubts will not deter Timothy Cornelius, the chief executive of Atlantis Resources, or ScottishPower Renewables, which plans to install up to 20 tidal turbines off the north coast, or about 90 other renewables firms across the world that are expected to be interested.

Such a level of interest means Mr Salmond's aspirations for Scotland to lead the way in the development of tidal technology and to become the green capital of Europe could become a reality.

The Pentland Firth has some of the strongest currents in the world because of the funnelling of tidal flows through a narrow strait. This produces fearsome tidal currents of up to 30km an hour, as well as rips and whirlpools.

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What is interesting in this story is that the skeptics are not the environmentalist who usually raise objections to any energy project. I am sure that if these projects to produce energy the environmentalist will find some reason for protest. The most likely objection would have to do with the migration of marine life in the area.

A 30km tidal current is extremely fact relative to most. When you consider that most ships do not travel much faster than that you get an idea of the flow. It is produced because of the extreme tidal fluctuations along coasts in areas like northern Scotland. Maine and to some extent Washington State have the extreme tidal variations where the difference between high and low tide is more than 20 feet. In contrast, the tidal variation in Galveston Bay is normally about a foot unless there is a wind driven tide which can drastically lower the shallow bay in the winter or as Hurricane Ike showed raise it to catastrophic levels.