What Does tidal energy Mean
We explain what tidal energy is, its main characteristics and uses. Also, its advantages, disadvantages and examples.
What is tidal energy?
It is known as tidal energy that is obtained from the use of the tides . Through tidal plants, sea water is used in different ways to generate, through a system of alternators, an electrical charge that can be used in many ways.
The operation of these plants is simple: when the tide rises, the gates of the plant are opened and water is allowed in , which will then be retained at low tide, to be released through a mechanism of turbines that will transform the kinetic or potential energy of water into electricity .
The use of tidal energy can take place in three different ways:
- Tidal current generators. Also called TSG ( Tidal Stream Generators ), they take advantage of the movement of water to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy , just as wind power plants do with the wind.
- Tidal dams. They operate as described above, taking advantage of the potential energy of the dammed water to mobilize the generating turbines.
- Dynamic tidal energy. Also called DTP ( Dynamic Tidal Power ), it combines the previous two: it consists of a system of large dams that induce different tidal phases in the water, to then mobilize their generating turbines.
In the case of plants that take advantage of ocean waves instead of tides, it will be called wave energy and not tidal energy.
See also: Clean energies
Characteristics of tidal energy
Tidal energy is a type of renewable energy (since the tides never run out) and clean (since it does not by-produce elements that pollute the environment ).
However, the relationship between the construction cost of tidal power plants, their environmental and landscape impact , and the amount of electrical energy produced, makes it an expensive and ineffective technology , which has prevented its popularization in the world. .
Uses of tidal energy
Tidal energy is used as a source of electrical energy to power small towns or industrial facilities . This electricity can be used to illuminate, heat or activate mechanisms of all kinds.
Advantages of tidal energy
The advantages of this type of energy lie in the total absence of consumable raw material , since the tides are infinite and inexhaustible in human terms, which makes tidal energy a form of renewable, inexhaustible and economical energy, which does not fluctuate from according to the prices of an input in the international market , such as oil .
On the other hand, it does not by-produce chemical or toxic elements whose disposal implies an additional effort , as occurs with radioactive plutonium from nuclear energy or with greenhouse gases released by the combustion of fossil hydrocarbons.
Disadvantages of tidal energy
The main drawback of this form of energy is how ineffective it is, it can give electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes in ideal cases, but through colossal investments that have a quite negative landscape and environmental effect , since it must intervene directly. in the marine ecosystem . This makes the relationship between the cost of manufacturing the plant, the ecological damage and the amount of energy obtained not very profitable.
Examples of tidal energy
Some examples of tidal plants are:
- La Rance tidal plant. Located in France and inaugurated in 1996, it produces electricity for 225,000 inhabitants, which is not negligible (9% of the electricity in Brittany). Its facilities are 390 m long and 33 m wide, and a 22 km² reservoir.
- Sihwa Lake Tidal Plant. Built in South Korea on Lake Sihwa, about 4 km from the city of the same name, it generates around 254 MW of electricity and has the largest tidal facilities in the world: a 12.5 km long boardwalk and a of 30 km².
- Tidal Lagoon tidal plant. Planned in Great Britain, in the United Kingdom, in Swansea Bay, it will match La Rance in capacity and generate about 240 MW of electricity. A budget of about 850 million pounds sterling is allocated for the project and its construction began in 2013.