Disadvantages of Tidal Energy
1) Cost of construction of tidal power plant is high.
2) There are very few ideal locations for construction of plant and they too are localized to coastal regions only.
3) Intensity of sea waves is unpredictable and there can be damage to power generation units.
4) Influences aquatic life adversely and can disrupt migration of fish.
5) The actual generation is for a short period of time. The tides only happen twice a day so electricity can be produced only for that time.
6) Frozen sea, low or weak tides, straight shorelines, low tidal rise or fall are some of the obstructions.
7) This technology is still not cost effective and more technological advancements are required to make it commercially viable.
8) Usually the places where tidal energy is produced are far away from the places where it is consumed. This transmission is expensive and difficult.
Tidal Energy is thus a clean source of energy and doesn’t require much land or other resources as in harnessing energy from other sources. However, the energy generated is not much as high and low tides occur only twice a day and continuous energy production is not possible.