How Tidal Power is Riding the Crest of a Wave - 1 views
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The argument for tidal power is overwhelming: it’s a practically infinite supply of clean energy and has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any power source; it’s reliable, cost-efficient, has minimal effect on the marine environment and virtually zero effect on sea-gazing aesthetics. Most importantly, The World Energy Council estimates that the energy that can be harvested from world’s oceans is equal to twice the electricity that the world produces now
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A reason many energy experts are looking at what tidal may be able to contribute, compared to other renewable sources like wind power, is that the amount of energy generated from a power-generating turbine is proportional to the density of the fluid that flows back and forth – meaning a water turbine has several hundred times the power of an air turbine.
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Seawater is denser than air; a lot denser – 832 times to be exact, meaning an 8 knot tidal current has more energy than a 380kph wind. This means a wave farm of ‘sea snakes’ – devices built by Scotland’s Pelamis Wave Power – covering half a square mile of ocean could produce 30 MWh of power, which is estimated to be enough for 20,000 homes. A wave farm covering 472 square miles could supply 24 million households – enough for the entire UK.
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Partly this has been due to the uncertainty of how to harness all this abundant marine energy. While it’s great that there’s the potential to harness up to 153 GW of tidal power in the UK alone,
