In the modern world, we have seen a shift from traditional method of generating power to a more contemporary one. And the one that is the center of attention these days is the tidal power. Favorite amongst the scientist, this energy source is really making its presence felt in the world of energy source and power generation. No doubt, it comes with a lot of advantages but distance drums always sound well and this is also the case with the tidal power, as with advantages it also has a lot of disadvantages.
The following are some of the disadvantages of tidal power that should be looked upon with utmost care.
- Tidal power is not all cost effective as it seems to be in the first place compared to natural gas and coal plants generating power. More so, the power stations in turn also add up to the carbon content of the atmosphere as fossil fuel is needed to run these power stations. Besides, wild life is displaced from their regular habitat.
- Tidal power cannot be generated inland and can be used where there is appropriate wave motion or tidal flow. It can only produce electricity when there is a tidal surge, not every time.
- Barrage system of tidal power generation requires a lot of maintenance and salt resistant parts. These barrages disrupt fish migration and at the same time kill some of them while they try to pass through the turbine frames. Besides, they disrupt the movement of ships through channels on which barrage is built.
- Tidal power is limited, as the tide never slows down or speeds up and at the same time occurs in cycles of 6 hours. Besides, tidal power is also dependent on fetch distance and hardly any suitable fetch distance is available and wherever available, the cost rises to almost 1.2 billion in setting up the facility.
- Technology is yet not developed fully and hence construction of efficient, cheap and strong conversion device is a bit problematic.
- Location is also one of the major problems as appropriate tides are not found everywhere. More so, tides are dispersing energy sources, lopsided and irregular in size, durability and distance.
Fossil fuels can be produced anywhere, but as mentioned above tidal power is locale specific and needs to be transformed to something different to be transported.
The above points are quite a testimonial to the fact that, there are a number of disadvantages to tidal power. No doubt, until and unless some techniques are developed to get rid of all the problems and cost factors associated with it, it may not be as cost effective to make it viable as a usable source of energy. However, the time is not far when the technologies would be developed and we would be able to come up with a better answer and solutions to all the problems.
Tidal power or tidal energy is one of the important conventional sources of energy. It is produced from the energy of the tides which is converted into electricity. At present we are not able utilize it for maximum benefits but in near future, tidal power will be one of the important source of electricity generation. Besides, we can predict tides more easily than solar power or wind energy. Not only was that, from very ancient times tide mills used in Europe and Atlantic coast of USA. The earliest being during middle Ages or even Roman times.
Tidal power generation
Tidal power is generated from the tides which are produced due to the relative motion of the earth and moon and to a very small extent due to the Earth-Sun system. This is the only source of energy which is generated from the motions of the earth and moon. Other sources of energy like fossil fuels, bio-fuels, solar power, and wind power, wave power and hydroelectric originate from Sun either directly or indirectly.
For the generation of the Tidal energy gravitational forces play the major role. Gravitational attraction of the Sun and the Moon are responsible for the rise and fall of the water levels and the production of the tidal currents. The level of the tide at any location depends upon
The change in the position of the Sun and the Moon relative to the Earth
Effects of the rotation of the earth and
The shape of the coastlines and sea floors
- Tidal power is classified as:
Tidal stream system which uses the kinetic energy of the flowing water to supply power to the turbines. The method is popular because of its cost effectiveness and lower ecological impacts.
Barrages which uses the potential energy of the difference in the head between low and high tides. Barrages are basically dams which are built across a tidal estuary. They are not that much popular because of the high infrastructure cost and environmental issues.Tidal lagoons which are very much similar to the barrages and cost less. Besides, they can be configured so that they can generate continuously.
To produce energy using tidal power, a tidal energy generator is used. Higher the height of the water levels or stronger the tidal current velocities, greater will be the tidal power generation.
Tidal movement causes the Earth-Moon system to loose energy continuously. This happens because of the water being pumped up around the coastlines due to the natural restrictions and because of the viscous dissipation in turbulence and at the sea bed.
Tidal energy is inexhaustible and can be regarded as a great renewable energy source.
