Pentland Firth Underwater Turbine Tidal Green Energy Plant

The search for green energy sources motivates people to create genious solutions. Checkout the Pentland Firth sea turbine tidal power plant in construction by MeyGen.

I am happy to know that there is an effort happening to harvest this energy source.

I call it green energy as it doesn’t emit CO2. But I hesitated to call it renewable energy though, because, you know, tidal waves are powered by moon momentum, which is finally not renewable.

Question to physicists/astronomers: by slowing down tidal waves, what is the effect on moon momentum:

  1. Slowing down tidal waves reduces the strain the waves create on the moon. The moon looses less kinetic energy, it slows down less than without.
  2. Taking energy out of tides takes kinetic energy from the moon. It slows down.

But who said the sun is renewable. So I think I should stop nitpicking terms and just accept that “renewable energy” is a good layman term.