Hello Joseph
Your team will need to review the Design Considerations and weight up whether your design solution is the most appropriate for this context https://ewbchallenge.org/challenge/saibai-island-tsirc/design-considerations/
If you still think that tidal energy is a path worth exploring for design opportunity 4.1, here are some useful points to help your team research and further develop your idea
Candidate zones for tidal-stream devices
Only a few kilometres south of PNG, Saibai Island sits in the northern Torres Strait, where Coral Sea and Gulf tides collide, driving fast, predictable currents and a 3–4 m spring range.
A Eastern approach (Saibai’s north-east coast)
– Situated outside the main shipping lanes (but will require maritime safety markers).
– Strong, consistent bi-direction flow
B Saibai–Dauan Island channel
– Narrow gap could create Venturi effect
– Short length for sea cables?
C North-west shore (Saibai–PNG coast)
– Consider silt/sedimentation from PNGs rivers and ongoing maintenance, proximity to the township
Other factors
– What about impact to marine life (dugongs, turtles and fish)?
– The TSRA Renewable Energy Transition Plan 2021 stresses community-led design and Indigenous employment pathways
– Consider seabed, environmental assessment (acoustics, sedimentation, scour, exclusion zones etc)
Hope this helps!
Tom Nguyen.
Joseph Kilcullen
Tom Nguyen