RE: Is Solar in competition with Tidal & Wind7 Oct 2020 11:57
That's correct Sophie. One of VDTK's target market is diesel generation replacement in off grid locations. This could be in the sea but is predominantly on-shore mining, oil and gas processing or even the roof tops of remote buildings. To supply these with tidal power would be uneconomical due to the cross country power lines. Tidal power (SAE) is ideal for supplying data centres through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Tidal is a predictable and consistent form of energy for places like this and is a very good power source to add in to the mix of renewables.
So, as Sophie1 states, everything is in competition but there are some differences between the supply requirements that would lead to using solar as the preferred source and vice versa with wind, tidal or hydrogen for that matter.
There is also the difference in cost per kw for tidal vs solar. Solar will currently be far cheaper as it is well established and developed.