Renewable Energy Sources I (Tidal Energy)

What’s tidal energy ? Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

Tidal Energy Tidal energy is one the renewable energy sources. Tidal energy is obtained from the tides in the seas or oceans.

The History of Tidal Energy The idea of using tidal energy goes back to 11th century. Then the millers benefited from the flowing water to grind grains. Now, the energy from the tides is converted to electric energy by the means of developed machines.

Tidal Energy In the opposite of solar or wind energy, tides occur twice a day. So it’s known before when it happens. Although it’s known when it happens, it’s not easy to get energy from tides.

Tidal Energy Electricity is provided from tidal energy like in the hydroelectric plant. The flowing water winds up the turbines and provides to store electricity in a generator. But the most negative way of tidal energy; the water flow is not permanent. So the energy from tides is as much as half of the energy from hydroelectric. But the costs of both of them are the same.

Tidal Energy There are a few places in the world to get energy from tides because of the position of the moon, geographical features and economical reasons. USA Energy Department tells that there are about 40 appropriate places in the world for tidal energy.

Tidal Energy Comparing with other energy sources, the cost of tidal energy is high. But with recent technological developments and new design of turbine technologies, the cost of tidal energy begins to decrease and the performance increases.

The working principle of Tidal Energy For tidal energy, the special turbines which are produced for tides are used. These turbines can move biletarel –in both sides. The tidal current generators provide to convert the kinetic energy to electric energy.

Use of Tidal Energy USA, England, France, Germany carry out studies on Tidal Energy. France has the first Tidal Energy Plant in the world. It was built in the northwest of France in the mouth of River Rance in This plant is about 750 metres high and produces 240 MW power.

The Tidal Energy Plants in the World The first tidal power station was the Rance tidal power plant built over a period of 6 years from 1960 to 1966 at La Rance, France. It has 240 MW installed capacity. 254 MW Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant in South Korea is the largest tidal power installation in the world. Construction was completed in The first tidal power site in North America is the Annapolis Royal Generating Station, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, which opened in 1984 on an inlet of the Bay of Fundy. It has 20 MW installed capacity. The Jiangxia Tidal Power Station, south of Hangzhou in China has been operational since 1985, with current installed capacity of 3.2 MW. More tidal power is planned near the mouth of the Yalu River. The first in-stream tidal current generator in North America (Race Rocks Tidal Power Demonstration Project) was installed at Race Rocks on southern Vancouver Island in September The next phase in the development of this tidal current generator will be in Nova Scotia (Bay of Fundy).

The Tidal Energy Plants in the World A small project was built by the Soviet Union at Kislaya Guba on the Barents Sea. It has 0.4 MW installed capacity. In 2006 it was upgraded with a 1.2MW experimental advanced orthogonal turbine. Jindo Uldolmok Tidal Power Plant in South Korea is a tidal stream generation scheme planned to be expanded progressively to 90 MW of capacity by The first 1 MW was installed in May A 1.2 MW SeaGen system became operational in late 2008 on Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. The contract for an 812 MW tidal barrage near Ganghwa Island (South Korea) north-west of Incheon has been signed by Daewoo. Completion is planned for A 1,320 MW barrage built around islands west of Incheon is proposed by the South Korean government, with projected construction start in The Scottish Government has approved plans for a 10MW array of tidal stream generators near Islay, Scotland, costing 40 million pounds, and consisting of 10 turbines – enough to power over 5,000 homes. The first turbine is expected to be in operation by The Indian state of Gujarat is planning to host South Asia's first commercial-scale tidal power station. The company Atlantis Resources planned to install a 50MW tidal farm in the Gulf of Kutch on India's west coast, with construction starting early in Ocean Renewable Power Corporation was the first company to deliver tidal power to the US grid in September, 2012 when its pilot TidGen system was successfully deployed in Cobscook Bay, near Eastport. In New York City, 30 tidal turbines will be installed by Verdant Power in the East River by 2015 with a capacity of 1.05MW. Construction of a 250 MW tidal power plant in Swansea city in UK will begin in It can generate over 400GWh per year, enough to power over 100,000 homes, the population of Swansea for up to 100 years, by 2017.

Tidal Energy in Turkey There is no tidal energy in Turkey. Because to be able to benefit from tidal energy the shores should be open to oceans. So it’s not suitable for Turkey.

References faydalari-ve-gelecegi.html faydalari-ve-gelecegi.html gucu-ile-gelen-temiz-enerji/4197#ad-image-0 gucu-ile-gelen-temiz-enerji/4197#ad-image-0

Şevval Coşkun