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Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of the tides into electricity or other useful forms of power. The tide is created by the gravitational effect of the sun and the moon on the earth. Tidal energy is therefore a predictable form of renewable energy, which can be harnessed in two forms:

BC Hydro’s 2002 Green Energy Study for BC estimated the realistic energy potential for tidal current energy generation in BC to be 20 TWhrs/year. The estimated cost was 11 cents/kWhr for a large (800 MW) site, and 25 cents/kWhr for a small (43 MW) site. The best sites are in the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait, which are both relatively close to the main centers of consumption.

Drilling and exploration for deep resources is very expensive. Forecasts for the future of geothermal power depend on assumptions about technology, energy prices, subsidies, and interest rates. Pilot programs like EWEB's customer opt in Green Power Program [6] show that customers would be willing to pay a little more for a renewable energy source like geothermal. But as a result of government assisted research and industry experience, the cost of generating geothermal power has decreased by 25% over the past two decades.[7] In 2001, geothermal energy cost between two and ten cents per kwh.[8]

Ocean waves are generated by wind passing over the surface of the sea - a process which often begins many hundreds or thousands of miles from shore.

Because the energy is generated right near the plant, it saves on processing and transportation costs compared to other types of fuel.

The initial costs of geothermal energy are high -- wells can cost $1 to $4 million each to drill, and installation of a home geothermal pump system can run as much as $30,000

However, a home geothermal energy pump can cut energy bills by 30 to 40 percent and will pay for itself within 5 to 10 years

Wave energy is an irregular and oscillating low-frequency energy source that can be converted to a 60-Hertz frequency

Kinetic energy, the energy of motion, in waves is tremendous. An average 4-foot, 10-second wave striking a coast puts out more than 35,000 horsepower per mile of coast.

Because wave energy needs only 1/200 the land area of wind and requires no access roads, infrastructure costs are less;

First generation biofuel are those fuel derived from vegetable or animal fats/oils, starch or sugar with the use of modern technology. 1. Let the base organic material (corn, sugarcane, wheat, etc) pass through a grinding meal to pulverize the selected material. 2. Then, liquefy it by placing the blend of water, grain powder and an enzyme that facilitates the breakdown of the grain compound into a high-heat cooker. 3. Cool it afterwards. Add another enzyme that will facilitate the conversion of starch into sugars which are then fermented, producing alcohol from the cooled mash. 4. Start the fermentation by adding yeast to the sugar mixture. The sugars will be broken down to ethanol (a form of alcohol) and carbon dioxide. 5. Distill the fermented mixture in order for the ethanol to separate from the solids. 6. Get rid of the water from the separated ethanol through a dehydration process.

First generation biofuel are those fuel derived from vegetable or animal fats/oils, starch or sugar with the use of modern technology.

Biodiesel from soybeans costs an estimated $2 to $2.50 per gallon to produce. Biodiesel from yellow grease is about $1 a gallon cheaper, but the available supply in the U.S. is much smaller – enough to make 100 million gallons per year. Producers of biodiesel from pure vegetable oil are eligible for a federal excise tax credit of $1 for every gallon blended with conventional diesel. Biodiesel from used cooking oil earns a credit of 50 cents per gallon.

In contrast to tidal power, ocean wave energy plants do not make use of the energy difference between high tide and low tide, but generating energy from continuous wave motion. So, wave energy generation is the conversion of the forces from the motion of waves into usable energy.

Wave energy is considered a form of hydropower, although it is the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean causing waves. So in many ways, wave energy is also wind energy - with all the pros and cons.

Waves are generated by winds blowing over the ocean surface.  Wave energy is effectively a stored and concentrated form of solar energy since the winds that produce them are caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere caused by the sun's differential heating of the earth's surface. Waves can efficiently transport energy for thousands of miles and retain their energy long after the winds that first created them have died down, which makes waves one of the most concentrated and consistent sources of renewable energy. 

Globally, the potential use of wave power is, unsurprisingly, limited to areas of the world where there are waves. On a global scale, this is dictated by global wind patterns, with the result that waves are more prevalent in the mid-latitudes (40-60(N/S), than nearer the equator where the lack of ocean wind is referred to as the 'doldrums'.  Interestingly, this potential for wave power contrasts with that of solar power, which is more effective in lower latitudes

The major challenge to using wind as a source of power is that it is intermittent and does not always blow when electricity is needed. Wind cannot be stored (although wind-generated electricity can be stored, if batteries are used), and not all winds can be harnessed to meet the timing of electricity demands. Further, good wind sites are often located in remote locations far from areas of electric power demand (such as cities).

Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to fossil fuel power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades, aesthetic (visual) impacts, and birds and bats having been killed (avian/bat mortality) by flying into the rotors. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.

Speaking to Silicon.com, the author of The Age of Intelligent Machines, said that nanotechnology could help solve the world's energy crisis and make solar technology cheaper.

first tidal energy turbines

Both technologies require room for periodic ship-borne maintenance and repair access, with subsurface equipment which could impinge on the other facility if they're too close. And if one of the turbines breaks, as happened in 2010 with an earlier tidal turbine in the Bay of Fundy, PC Landing worries it could damage the nearby cable.

Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity.