The Prince of Tides

Hoping to become the “Saudi Arabia of tidal energy,” the Scottish government is offering 10 million pounds to spur innovation in wave power. Some say the incentive is unnecessary, since private companies are already racing to figure out the best way to generate electricity from the ocean.

The Guardian:

A £10m prize for taming the stormy Scottish seas by building a working marine energy station was opened for entries today. The global competition, funded by the Scottish government, aims to replicate the success of bounties such as the Ansari X prize which in 2004 led to the first private spaceflight.

The Scottish energy minister, Jim Mather, said the £10m Saltire prize was the world’s most valuable government-funded prize for technology innovation, but critics complained that it was a wasteful “vanity project”.

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aquamarinepower.com

The Oyster wave machine is one approach to power generation already deployed off the coast of Scotland.