Has there been any research on downstream effects that would limit how closely Orbital's turbines can be located if the concept is implemented with multiple units as a turbine farm? Or does the greater density and viscosity of water compared with air mean proximity is less of an issue.

Let's just hope it works better than the last one...

Shame they can't make them out of recycled plastic... Oh, the irony!

This is great stuff, but will it be known as the otter/sealion/etc. killer, similar to the carnage that's being imposed on the bird population by wind power? I'm a bit surprised the same folks who are usually highly concerned about animal life look the other way when these things chop up animals day in day out.

Cool stuff. But if it is economically viable, why the requirement to do melodramatic mass-investment videos?

Solid and economically proven technology (they have a 4+ year pro type in operation) has no difficulty raising traditional venture capital. Especially proven green technology with folks like Gates throwing around green money.

Mass-market capital fundraising is used two ways:

1) For unproven products hoping to be funded by wishful individual “investors”.

2) Increasingly commonly used by established companies simply as a marketing hype tool.

oh, I've had this idea of a turbine with balast balloon and chained (would move up/down to gain most stream) to ocean floor already in 2005 (no patent though 🥴). what a device for just 2k households.. still, considering all the streams around the world a nice addition, especially with bigger models.

Giant sea life cuisinart is good for the environment. Got it.

Studies have shown that approximately 140,000 to 500,000 birds are killed annually by wind turbines in the U.S. That compares to approximately 2.4 BILLION birds killed annually in the U.S. by feral cats. That means that wind turbines kill, at most, 2.4% of the number of birds killed by feral cats.

I'm a bird lover, but I'm so sick of hearing ill-informed people whining about "the carnage being imposed on the bird population" by wind turbines. If you're really concerned about the well-being of birds, make it illegal to allow cats to run free. Impose a bounty on feral cats.

Skipjack: If you're going to make an implied claim like that, cite some sources. Otherwise, it's completely meaningless.

No mention of the condition of the prototype after a year in the brine. But with arms that bring the turbines to the service for regular servicing it might be OK, assuming the lifting mechanisms don't get fouled. Let's also hope it handles storms well, which might be a little more intense farther from shore.