Tidal Energy
The position of the earth and the moon changes throughout the year and this change in potential energy can be utilised to generate electricity. The generation of electricity from tides is similar in many ways to hydro-electric power as they both transform water in motion into electricity. Although in this case, the flow of water can go both directions instead of just one.
Tidal energy, just like hydro energy, transforms water in motion into a clean form of energy. The motion of the tidal water, driven by the pull of gravity, contains large amounts of kinetic energy in the form of strong tidal currents.
There are three main types of technologies:
-
Tidal current generator: Tidal current generators make use of the kinetic energy of water in motion, similar to the wind turbines
-
Tidal dam: Tidal dams make use of the potential energy that exists in the height difference between high and low tides.
-
Dynamic tidal energy: Dynamic tidal energy is a theoretical generation technology that exploits the interaction between kinetic and potential energies in tidal currents.
The following image shows the estimated tidal capacity power:
Advantages:
-
Renewable source of energy
-
Zero carbon emissions
-
Predictable
-
Efficient at low speeds
Disadvantages:
-
May have environmental effects
-
Close to the coast
-
Relatively expensive
-
Not widely studied
Swansea Tidal Lagoon
Location: Swansea Bay, Wales
Capacity: 320 MW
Annapolis Royal Generating Station
Location: in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia in Canada
Capacity: 20 MW
Sihwa Tidal Power Station
Location: Western coast, Sihwa Lake, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Capacity: 254 MW
Location: Orkney, Scotland
Capacity: 1 MWe
Location: 4675 RB Vrouwenpolder, Netherlands
Capacity: 1.25 MWe
Location: Osprey Way, Garden Island WA 6168, Australia
Capacity: 5 MWe
Location: Rance River, Brittany, France
Capacity: 240 MWe
Location: Vizhinjam, Kerala, India
Capacity: 75 KWe
◄
1 / 1
►