Tidal generators are also under development which can be placed near shore to take advantage of the in and out flow of water generated by tides. Other water turbines can be placed off shore in ocean currents that would drive those mechanisms.
Wind Power
This is another venerable technology that has made improvements in efficiency over the time it has been in use. Windmills have been in use for centuries to convert grains to flour, and the smaller versions were a nearly ubiquitous feature of American farmsteads for the generation of mechanical or electrical power.
Modern windmills with their tall standards supporting large radius vanes that can turn and generate power in even light winds are often reviled for obstructing the scenery and destroying its beauty. But a time may soon come when this blight on the horizon may be more acceptable than transportation by foot.
These large wind collectors will no doubt become more and more essential to satisfying our energy demands as the century goes on, but they are still a part of the infrastructure of the old energy paradigm which holds that large scale centralized generating facilities and their efficiencies are the most reasonable way to address our needs. An alternative to, or more properly, an augmentation of that model exists in smaller efficient wind turbines that can provide electricity, as a part of a mixed generation system, to individual homes or small industrial facilities.
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