• We use photo-elicitation to understand coastal resident’s perceptions of tidal energy. • We assess how key environmental values and attributes influence these perceptions. • Participants were positive about tidal energy and recognised its sustainable nature. • Participants resolved a range of self-interest and altruistic trade-offs to reach their perceptions. • Impacts on the local environment and wildlife were key influences on perceptions. Early consideration of potential societal issues, including public acceptance, is important for the effective implementation of energy policies and technologies. Conversely, lack of public acceptance can act as a barrier to their uptake, and deployment of renewable technologies has frequently been marked by public opposition at the local level. Levels of support for renewable energy are currently high, although expressions of public support do not always translate into approval for local developments, and there is significant variability in acceptance depending on a wide range of attributes. This paper provides novel insights into potential contributing factors to public acceptance of tidal energy amongst residents of coastal communities along a major inlet in the UK with high potential for tidal energy development. Adopting a largely qualitative empirical approach, nineteen participants from three coastal towns took part in photo-elicitation interviews that utilised self-taken photographs to drive discussions around local environmental (marine and coastal) attributes of importance and how these might influence participants’ attitudes toward tidal energy. Selected data from a previous related energy survey provided a mixed-methods lens to reinforce specific issues raised by participants. Key findings on participants’ perceptions of tidal energy included overall general positivity toward this technology, as well as recognition of its significance for sustainable energy. A range of trade-offs between issues of personal importance and the wider significance of tidal energy were also apparent. The perceived impacts of developments on environmental attributes of greatest importance to participants were thematically analysed revealing particular concerns regarding local environmental impacts and impacts on wildlife. Presented as key influencing issues on participant’s perceptions of tidal energy developments, this new qualitative data improves our understanding of the issues that can lead to acceptance or rejection of proposals and are thus of relevance to a range of users, including decision-makers, consultants and developers.

Aotearoa New Zealand aims to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030, currently standing at over 85% from hydro, geothermal, wind, and solar resources. The country’s isolated geography currently necessitates dispatchable hydropower and fossil fuels to manage intermittency and maintain grid stability. A literature review of countries also with high renewable penetrations – Norway, Iceland, Austria, Canada, and Brazil – revealed challenges including price volatility, operational flexibility requirements, dry year risks, and increasing electricity demand from economic growth and electrification. The objective of this paper is to understand the potential consequences for Aotearoa New Zealand by comparing the projected 2030 electricity demand, based on scenarios developed by the government, against anticipated renewable generation capacity, using data on the current generation fleet and the near-term investment pipeline. The method assumed that added capacity of renewables would follow similar generation profiles to existing generators. It is concluded that the 100% renewable electricity target by 2030 is feasible, but only if the committed and actively pursued projects, including offshore wind, are commissioned. Then there would be sufficient generation for all scenarios, maintaining nearly full hydro storage year-round. Minor shortfalls occur during low wind/solar periods (0 to 1% of the year), but with significant excess generation (55 to 65% of the year) where 27 to 42% would be available for effective storage utilisation in the power system. To this end, the shortfalls can be addressed, to some extent, with committed and actively pursued battery storage, which was not included in the analysis due to the uncertainty of how they will be participating in the future electricity market.