On 15/12/2012 16:30, Another John wrote:
However, we are an island nation, of a small size (with nowhere further
than 70m from the coast). Why the heck aren't we pursuing wave and/or
tidal power? THAT will definitely always be there

Wave is as unpredictable as wind. Tides happen twice a day (roughly) and
you can only pull out power while the tide is flowing. There's also a
scale problem - we use (waste?) far too much energy for tide to do more
than help a bit.

The paper that Mike posted is behind a paywall. But it seems to suggest
hydrogen tanks being used for storage for 9-72 hours of power. I guess
they get it from electrolysis and feed it into fuel cells - but I can't
help thinking "terrorist target".

They also talk about having 3 times the generating capacity that the
system needs, because it's better to throw power away than not have any.

Andy