By Lizzy Silver and Kate Foster Tidal Energy By Lizzy Silver and Kate Foster

Uses of the energy The main usage of Tidal Energy is for electricity. This type of energy is being used in France to generate 240 mega watts of Tidal Electricity at very low costs. There are also other smaller uses of the power in Canada, China and Korea. The energy from tidal waves is reliable because they come in patterns and can be predicted.

Is it renewable or non-renewable Tidal energy is renewable because you can use it more than once. Water goes in a cycle (The ‘Water Cycle’), that’s why it doesn’t run out. We don’t have that much drinking water in the world but tidal energy doesn’t need drinking water, it can just use water straight from the ocean.

How the energy is provided Tidal energy is made from tidal energy generators. The large underwater turbines are placed in areas in the ocean with high tidal movements, and are created to catch the kinetic motion of the waves, there is a lot of energy from that much push from massive tidal waves.

Benefits of the energy source No pollution Reliable source Strong waves cause a lot of energy Does not affect wildlife Tidal turbines can be a lot smaller than wind turbines and can get a lot more energy Can not be seen or heard

Drawbacks of the energy source Cost of power plant is high Waves could be too strong and break the turbines Where they need to put the turbines is far away from where they make them so transporting them is expensive

Where the energy source is used There are a few tidal power plants operating in the world. The first was located in La Rance, France. The largest is the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station in South Korea. The United States however has no tidal plants.

Could the energy source be used in our local area? No because we don’t have any sea’s in Warrandyte. We could use dams though but they would probably be too small to fit.