we would be totally independent from coal and fossil fuels in no time. Yes, it would cost a lot of money to gear up for the new energy sources. This would create a lot of jobs as well as improve our planet. Yes, our govt. could subsidize a lot of the initial costs. Stop subsidizing the oil and financial industries. Not enough courage and willingness to to stop the corruption in our present Congress. They are all (most) owned by corporations...mittens says they are people too...

when the world's first tidal power station went online in France.

And the first tidal power station in the Western Hemisphere went online in Nova Scotia in 1984: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapolis_Royal_Generating_Station

the one in Maine is in the ocean, which is what the title of the article says.

tides are still tides. A tidal barrage uses the tidal force of water on a river in the intertidal zone, or of an estuary/inlet/etc.

I work on a tidal river - and live a block from the ocean. It is different.

http://www.lobstermanspage.net/tides/currents.html

Are they under water? Do they churn up the ocean floor? How do they keep ocean life; fish, whales etc from being sliced to death? Just asking. I'm sure more knowledgeable people than me have already explored all the issues, but there was nothing in the article addressing them.

The blades move very slowly and the impact appears to be minimal (so far).

Fish, whales and other marine life are pretty good at avoiding propellors on boats, etc. I suspect the same will be true in this case.

I would hate to think we do one thing good for the environment, but at the risk of unforeseen harmful consequences for other aspects of the environment.

There is a lot more out there, of course, but I have not been able to pick up on any significant environmental concerns.

http://climatide.wgbh.org/2011/08/why-tidal-turbines-may-be-less-controversial-than-wind-turbines/

We've been doing it with river dams for decades. The ocean has far more potential. I'm not sure why they went for turbines though. My idea is for anchored buoys with floats that feed an inductance piston with the rise and fall of the waves. That won't trap fish or anything and shouldn't require any maintenance. For as many times as I've posted that in various places, hopefully somebody will stumble upon the idea and try it. They'd also be a shitload cheaper to produce in volume. One anchored base could house an entire farm of them.

and whether it can put up with a few big storms, but this is a big step. Hope we get some on the West Coast as well...

environmental impact.

I would like to get a small one just for my boat, as we are generally in an area with significant tidal changes.