Select an energy use such as a shore facility and measure its demand over a representative period.
500 Queens / Tidal and Wave Power
Tidal and Wave Power
Find a coastal energy use that might justify careful testing of tidal or wave technology.
Follow the connections. Choose your direction.
The need worth working on.
A coastal community may have energy needs that differ from those of a large grid customer. Marine equipment must also coexist with fishing, recreation, ecology and maintenance access. The founder's task is to compare an actual load with several supply options before selecting an attractive technology.
What the enterprise could offer.
Develop a site-neutral energy options study followed, if justified, by a small authorised test. Distinguish tidal flow from wave motion, and define which one the proposed device uses. Women in regional technical roles could lead load measurement, stakeholder discussions and service planning, with marine workers' experience shaping the design.
People to build with
- Coastal energy users
- Marine engineering teams
- Community energy planners
A load and resource comparison
Use documented marine-resource information to estimate a range of possible output without claiming a site is available.
Compare marine options with efficiency, solar, storage and existing supply on a consistent basis.
Ask marine and electrical specialists to define the smallest authorised test that would resolve the main uncertainty.
The first result
A comparative energy brief with a measurement plan and clear reasons to proceed or stop.
What needs to be demonstrated.
Engineering development
The starting evidence
The planning catalogue proposes tidal and wave power; the related Straddie workbench is an options exploration, not an approved installation.
The open question
Whether the local resource and service requirements justify marine equipment over simpler alternatives.
The next measurement
Useful energy delivered against measured demand, including maintenance downtime and seasonal variation.
Build the means to deliver.
Useful capabilities and resources
- Demand measurements
- Marine and electrical expertise
- Local user and environmental input
A possible business model
An energy assessment or maintenance service may be the first viable offer. Device deployment depends on a separate engineering and operating case.
A leadership decision to practise
Choose performance criteria that include affordability, local work and marine use, not just peak device output.
People, consequences and decisions.
- Access for repair may be weather-limited.
- A short resource record may mislead.
- Marine activities and ecological values may conflict with a proposed site.
If equality were being designed now...
- Can women working on the coast shape marine maintenance routines using their own practical experience?
- Who would share the energy benefits, skilled work and decision-making power if an installation were eventually proposed?
Begin with women's own experiences across bodies, ages, cultures and places. Invite disagreement and choose a practical change together.
Create a women-led design brief →Build your learning council.
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Anglo-Torres Strait Islander
Follow the water, and the people who depend on it.
Build alongside these ideas.
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Assess pumped water storage as one option for matching energy supply with the times people need it.
Engineering development
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Build a battery service around the job the customer needs done and the full life of the equipment.
Practical pilot
Waste reclamationWater Pollution
Turn a water-quality concern into a clear observation programme and a practical response pathway.
Practical pilot
Follow existing public concept work.
Connected public conceptStraddie Clean Energy Superpower
Compare island energy possibilities, from rooftop solar and storage to heat, water and emerging research.
From the original suggestion to a working brief.
Original concept from 500 Queens VC NEW Long, slide 15; current context from the September 2026 planning document. This expanded brief and pilot are proposed development, not evidence of an operating enterprise or confirmed partnership.
Original title: Tidal and Wave Power. The pilot, business model and learning connections on this page are proposed developments of that original idea.