(20-04-2022, 10:01 AM)king1 Wrote: i've always liked the idea of tidal, tucked away offshore (i'm assuming), but the impact on the seabed is probably an issue for Maori culture that will need working throughWe lived just down the road from the Annapolis tidal generating station back in 2003. It was an interesting concept though even while we were there a problem occurred when a whale calf found its way upstream of the station separated from its mother which eventually resolved but caused a lot of publicity at the time. Also worth noting that the closure of the station in 2019 came as a result of high maintenance costs and issues with high fish mortality. It did puzzle me though that the Annapolis station only generated during the outgoing tide which I thought was a missed opportunity as the turbine saw tidal movement in both directions.
A similar technology with turbines moored on the sea floor in the mouth of the Kaipara harbour failed to progress a few years back with fish mortality being one of the main criticisms then. Also from my previous work on offshore oil production facilities I am all too aware of the aggressive conditions that the sea presents for any structure sited in it. Interesting to read the factors in play and predicted back in 2013 when the Kaipara proposal was active, and how things have changed in the interim.