This is the final report of the Australian Tidal Energy (AUSTEn) three-year project to map Australia’s tidal energy resource in detail and assess its economic feasibility and ability to contribute to the country’s renewable energy needs.
Report extract
The AUSTEn project has mapped Australia’s tidal energy resource in unprecedented detail, assessed its economic feasibility and ability to contribute to the country’s future energy needs, and characterised in detail two potentially prospective tidal energy development sites to aid forthcoming developers. Project outcomes will aid the emerging tidal energy industry to develop commercial-scale tidal energy projects.
Motivation
Australia is home to some of the largest tides in the world. Tidal energy systems are considered to have the highest technical maturity in the ocean renewable sector and several national and international tidal energy developers have been prospectively seeking opportunities for Australian tidal energy projects. However, knowledge of Australia’s tidal resource, its spatial extent and technical implementation remain insufficient for the tidal energy industry, regulators, policy makers and research community to make any assessment of their risks for investment in potential projects. The project was established to support prospective developers, financiers, regulators and policymakers, by providing critical baseline information, and establish what contribution tidal energy could make to Australia’s future energy mix.
