In the hunt for new energy sources, federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg is now embracing the waves.
The Turnbull government is tipping $2.5 million towards an ambitious project to record and map the energy within Australia's tides, potentially unlocking billions in investment.
The $5.85 million project, Tidal Energy in Australia – Assessing Resource and Feasibility in Australia's Future Energy Mix, will create an online atlas which will detail resources across some of the largest and most reliable tides in the world.
"With some of the largest tides in the world, Australia is ideal for this extremely reliable and low-carbon form of energy," said lead researcher Associate Professor Irene Penesis, of the University of Tasmania.
"Potential investors are currently held back by a lack of detailed information on tidal resources that would help them understand the risks and opportunities available."
Like wind turbines, tidal generators convert kinetic energy into electricity – an underwater turbine is driven by ocean currents, and the rise and fall of seal level can also be harnessed.
"As a reliable, low emissions form of energy, tidal generation technology could be integrated to enhance the country's grid stability, or to provide support to off-grid industrial sites and remote communities," Mr Frydenberg said in a statement.
Federal government funding channelled through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will underwrite the three-year project, led by the Australian Maritime College at the University of Tasmania, hoping to '"unlock tidal energy's potential to contribute to Australia's energy needs".
"Ocean energy technologies are in their early stages of development." ARENA Chief Executive Officer Ivor Frischknecht said.
"This research will help Australia to better understand tidal energy and help to maximise renewable energy into the market."
As tides are more predictable than winds and can provide power for up to 18 hours a day, it's hoped that tidal generators could provide an energy source with an output that could be calculated for years in advance.
There are large-scale tidal generators in Europe and Asia - the largest, the Shiwa Lake tidal power station - opened in South Korea in 2011.