Renewable electricity from tidal power also offers another route away from hydrocarbons originating in oil-producing autocracies, something that has become a key political priority following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. These projects are situated across Great Britain, including in Swansea Bay, Merseyside, the North Somerset Coast and the North Wales Coast. Industry group the British Hydropower Association adds that tidal range projects under development – all of which are currently stalled – would deliver 10GW of new capacity by 2030 if they were to receive permission and adequate funding. A 2021 study from academics at Edinburgh University found that tidal stream alone has the potential to deliver 11% of the UK’s current annual electricity demand, which is the same as the combined contribution of solar and biomass over the past year. However, the UK – which features the second-strongest tides in the world after Canada, and is a densely populated island of nearly 70 million people – could be an “exception”, Hogan adds. “In North America, the only major tidal energy locations are in Alaska and along the Maine coast, and while there are good sites along the coast of China and Korea, these are still quite limited.” The passage of the different currents moves the propellers of the large dams causing the generation of energy.“Tidal is viable in only a limited number of places, most of which are very far from any significant demand centres,” explains Mike Hogan from think tank the Regulatory Assistance Project. Dynamic tidal power or DTP: This type of tidal power plant could be classed as a combination of the two previous ones.
Tidal barrage generator#
In this case, the propellers of the turbines turn, transferring energy to a generator that transforms it into electricity. Tidal stream generator: Tidal stream generators, also called TSG, use the kinetic energy of water in constant motion.This type of tidal power plant is one of the less common, as there aren't many geographical areas that have the ideal conditions to build them. Later, when the tide lowers, the gates are opened and the water from the inside of the reservoir goes out to sea, putting the turbines into operation. And when this reaches its maximum level, they are closed. When the tide rises, the dam gates are opened to allow water to reach the reservoir. Tidal barrage: This is a dam located at the highest point where the tide reaches.Salinity gradient energy or blue energy: Energy is obtained from the difference in salt concentration that exists between seawater and that of rivers.ĭepending on how the electricity is generated, there are 3 types of tidal power plants:.Thermal gradient or ocean thermal energy conversion: based on the temperature difference between surface waters and deepwaters, the thermal energy of the sea is made the most of.Current power: The kinetic energy from marine currents is used.In this case, radiation from the sun causes an uneven heating of the Earth, which leads to the displacement of air masses and the formation of wind that causes waves. Wave power: It makes the most of the movement of the waves.It's an easily predictable natural phenomenon from which the movement of water can be transformed into electricity. Tidal power: as we have seen, it makes the most of the rise and fall of the tides produced by the gravitational attraction exerted by the sun and the moon on our planet.Before going further into tidal power and its role in the energy transition, it's worth clarifying that our oceans can provide us with energy in many different ways:
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