

Harnessing the power of the tides: cost vs. benefit - indiejade
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aL30TTk2.yVI&refer=exclusive

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indiejade
I wonder where they get these numbers. From the article:

 _While tides are a free source of energy, generating power from them is three
times more expensive than using natural gas or coal over the life of a
project, according to the Carbon Trust, a U.K. government-funded research
unit.

Including capital expenses, fuel and maintenance, U.K. tidal current power
costs 15 pence per kilowatt hour, compared with 5 pence for coal and gas and 7
pence for wind, the trust says._

It seems to me that with tidal energy, the initial cost of building a
"harnessing source" would be fairly high, but the "maintenance costs," (for
lack of a better phrase) would be significantly lower enough to validate
investment.

Coal and natural gas, which this study apparently deems "cheaper" than tidal
or wind, has ongoing maintenance which includes: cost of mining, cost of
shipping, not to mention external negative externalities on the environment
from carbon emissions. . ..

