400 million tidal energy project in NZ - a US $402 million (NZ $600m) proposal to generate electricity with 200 tidal-powered turbines submerged at the entrance to the Kaipara Harbour could get under way next year. - http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/11/402m-tidal-energy-plant-for-new.html

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Ocean Power Technologies deploys Spanish wave unit - New utility-scale wave power station expected to eventually deliver 1.39MW of power off the coast of Spain. Pennington, N.J.-based Ocean Power Technologies said today it has deployed its first PowerBuoy wave energy unit to Spanish utility Iberdrolam. - http://media.cleantech.com/3558/ocean-power-technologies-deploys-spanish-tidal-unit

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Tidal Currents from Gulf Stream - A scheme at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton would anchor a fleet of turbines to the seafloor under the Gulf Stream off the east coast of Florida. The vast, untapped power of the Gulf Stream would spin the turbines as it flows north at a steady 5 mph. Underwater cables would carry electricity to shore. A prototype turbine is being tested in a laboratory before it goes into the water next year, assuming that questions about the environment and the safety of fish are settled. - http://www.boulderweekly.com/20080904/newsbriefs11.html

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Tidal Energy in UK & France - UK is weighing a plan to place a 10-mile-long “barrage,” a sort of dam, across the Severn Estuary between Wales and southwest England. The rise and fall of the estuary’s 48-foot tides would spin turbines, like a hydroelectric dam, but it would work both ways, as the tide roared in and out. The $29 billion tidal-power scheme is being fought on economic and environmental grounds, and its fate is uncertain. A similar, smaller barrage has been producing energy in France for 40 years. -

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Alstom Invests in Scottish Ocean Energy Firm AWS

Inverness, Scotland Scottish renewable energy firm AWS Ocean Energy announced that France's Alstom has taken a 40 percent equity share in the company.

Alstom will be a shareholder, alongside Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 and Scottish Investment Bank, who continue their support of AWS Ocean Energy, AWS reported.

The move complements the existing activities of Alstom's Ocean Energy business in Nantes, France, where the company is developing its 1-MW commercial-scale tidal turbine prototype, the Beluga 9.

AWS Ocean Energy is currently focusing on the development and delivery of its AWS-III wave energy converter, a floating device with a rated power output of 2.5 MW.

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Marine Energy Market: Huge Potential for the UK - The value of worldwide electricity revenues from wave and tidal stream projects could ultimately be between pounds sterling 60bn (euro 77.40bn) and pounds sterling 190bn (euro 245.10bn) per year. The United Kingdom is a clear leader both in terms of activity and in terms of support to the sector. It possesses 50% of Europe's wave energy potential. According to estimates, 20% of UK's total electricity requirement can be harnessed from ocean energy. - http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Marine-Energy-Market-Huge-Potential/story.aspx?guid={39E97AD6-

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Investments required in tidal and wave energy - There have been estimates that investments of over pounds sterling 500bn (euro 645bn) would be necessary for wave energy to contribute 2000 terawatt hours per year (TWh/y) worldwide. At the same time, it has been estimated that if ocean energy technologies continue to be supported and achieve their predicted potential, approximately 3 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity could be available in the EU by 2020. -

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13 Wave and Tidal energy startups - Excellent list by Earth2Tech - http://earth2tech.com/2008/09/18/13-startups-energized-by-waves-and-tides/

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Evapod tidal energy - Evopod is a device for generating green electricity from free flowing tidal streams and ocean currents. Drawing on technologies used in the offshore oil, gas, and wind turbine industries, Evopod uses a mooring system that allows it to float freely on the water while staying in the optimum position to take advantage of tides and currents. - http://bdaily.info/news/energy/2008-12-16-new-wave-of-investment-for-tidal-power-company/

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Tidal energy generation system - The simplest generation system for tidal plants involves a dam, known as a barrage, across an inlet. Sluice gates on the barrage allow the tidal basin to fill on the incoming high tides and to empty through the turbine system on the outgoing tide, also known as the ebb tide. There are two-way systems that generate electricity on both the incoming and outgoing tides. - http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/ocean.html

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USA has little potential for tidal energy - There are currently two commercial sized barrages in operations. One is located in La Rance, France; the other is in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada. Diagram of tidal turbine. The US has no tidal plants and only a few sites where tidal energy could be produced economically. France, England, Canada, and Russia have much more potential. - http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/ocean.html

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Ocean energy comprises... - Ocean thermal, tidal power and wave energy -

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Tidal energy power facility - Tidal energy power facility resembles a hydroelectric dam, built across an estuary. At high tide, water flows freely into the estuary, but when the tide turns, the water can flow out only through a hydroelectric turbine -

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?8billion tidal energy project to power 5% of British homes - The British government has shortlisted five ingenious solutions to provide green electricity to about 5% of urban homes in the UK. The ?8billion project comprises five sub-projects to harness the 12 yard tides, twice a day in the Severn Estuary. The energy till now was going to waste, but if the project comes to life, it will be able to prevent millions of tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. - http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-tech-%c2%a38billion-tidal-energy-project-to-power-5-british-homes

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Frost: Hydro, Wave, and Tidal Power Market Outlook Bright - http://bit.ly/citOXz

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Invention Awards: A Fish-Friendly Tidal Turbine - http://bit.ly/baDikU

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"With today's tech, exploitable marine energy estimated to be 100,000 TWh/year - 45,000 for wave, 2,200 for tidal current, 20,000 for salinity gradient and 33,000 for thermal gradient." - http://bit.ly/a2W2UM - Not sure how accurate these are.

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'Underwater kite' aims to turn energy tide - A new type of tidal turbine which its creators describe as an "underwater kite" has taken a step closer to becoming commercially available - http://bit.ly/b3IGLz

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