Financial Analysis

In order to draw comparisons between the original system and recommended modifications, its is important to identify a metric capable of fairly representing dissimilar technologies.  This is done through the use of the 'Levelised Cost of Energy' (LCoE) for the top three scoring devices in each category: Tidal Stream, Tidal Range, Wave, and Storage devices.
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LCoE is a measure of the cost of energy over the lifetime of a device, by dividing the sum of the Capital Expenditure (CapEx) and lifetime Operating Expenditure (OpEx) by the lifetime energy output of the device, a figure can be achieved in £/kWh, representing the performance of the device.  As this figure is related to the output of the device, which is subsequently dependent on the availability of resource, areas of low resource or poorly performing devices will provide an exceedingly high score.

[Source: Wikipedia]

In order to differentiate between the capital cost of devices, the rated power of the chosen device is considered and a cost per installed kW considered, the costs for the various types of device were estimated from a number of literary sources. [1][2][3]

Final Recommendation

As the financial analysis is performed for the top three devices in each category, this provides an outlook on several options of generation or storage capacity, essentially placing the final decision in the hands of the community or individual using the tool.  However, the tool will automatically recommend the option which provides the greatest financial benefit, in that it represents the lowest LCoE as it is incapable of numerically quantifying the ambitions and sensitivities or particular individuals or situations.

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References

[1] http://tidalenergytoday.com/2015/02/24/etri-projections-for-tidal-and-wave-2010-2050/
[2] http://www.poyry.co.uk/sites/www.poyry.co.uk/files/tidallagoonpower_levelisedcoststudy_v7_0.pdf
[3] http://www.tidallagoonpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/New_Power_Cost_League_Table_2016.pdf