Harnessing the Oceans - click to download PDF(185K): download require Adobe Acrobat

A sensible vision of New Zealand's renewable energy future should utilize a range of different resources.

One of the lesser known resources is the energy locked up in the oceans around New Zealand - sometimes termed "Marine Renewable". New Zealand sits astride the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties, where winds regularly drive waves as high as three-storey buildings.

The landmass and its hidden submarine mountains guide massive ocean currents both from the north and from the south. Because of the shape of the land, the rise and fall of the tides generate strong currents in some places. A seemingly infinite energy resource is available, but can we actually harness it?