It's odd to talk about making it into an artificial reef as if that's a good thing here.
They didn't explain their exact cooling setup, but the explanation came off as someone with pretty limited experience in seawater cooling systems. In many, if not most, climates where all those people are living close to the water, aquatic life will wreak havoc on seawater cooling. 6 months is a decent estimate for reducing cooling capacity by half. Orkney Island probably has it a little better because it's a pretty cold location (not too familiar with SW temps in that region). The hull cleaning pictures in the article look much more favorable than what I've seen in various areas around the Pacific.
They didn't explain their exact cooling setup, but the explanation came off as someone with pretty limited experience in seawater cooling systems. In many, if not most, climates where all those people are living close to the water, aquatic life will wreak havoc on seawater cooling. 6 months is a decent estimate for reducing cooling capacity by half. Orkney Island probably has it a little better because it's a pretty cold location (not too familiar with SW temps in that region). The hull cleaning pictures in the article look much more favorable than what I've seen in various areas around the Pacific.