Jeffrey: Tidal Current Potential

Originally my question would have read: Does the tidal current have enough potential to be a renewable energy source? After researching a few ideas this past week; I now have 100 more questions.

We have to be able to measure the velocity, frequency, and duration of each tidal period. How can we collect the data? Manually or unmanned? My wife, Deanna is currently exploring that area and we have discussed some options. It is looking like we may be designing and engineering our unmanned data collection device. Which will have to tested and calibrated. Sounds exciting all by itself!

However, I still looked at designs and specifications of turbines. I was curious to see what the minimum operation requirements were. I was looking or a baseline. I found a relatively inexpensive Helix style turbine that requires 1.5 meter/sec (3 knots) of current flow.

Helix Turbine

 Because I will be looking at the relationship between duration and velocity, a scatterplot will be used to display the data.

Regardless of which way this goes, I will keep you updated.