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.
Hydropower is the power generated from the force of water. When water is stored in a dam or a pool, it has a large amount of potential energy, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy when the water is made to flow from a higher altitude to a lower altitude. This kinetic energy can be harnessed by letting them to rotate large turbines and producing electricity. It is the oldest known power that is produced. Man has been using water and its many forms in all the different ways possible. He has harnessed the power of water and its various forms as below
Waterwheels
The natural flow of water in rivers, streams etc, can be used to rotated the wheels of power houses. This was the first form in which the energy of water was used. The power produced from this was used to run power mills in older days.
Hydroelectricity
Electricity is produced by allowing water stored in higher altitude to flow from a height to a lower area. Turbines are kept in its path. The water turns the turbine owing to the high kinetic energy which is converted from the potential energy possessed by it during its stance in a higher altitude. The turning of turbine produces electricity. This is one of oldest renewable source of electricity and is still in use. The production of electricity is cheaper than that of other renewable and non renewable electricity production. It is also possible to take water from one dam to different power stations thereby using water at different levels of altitude to produce electricity.
Electricity produced from running water
Water running in rivers, streams and oceans, which are not stored, is used to turn turbine to produce electricity. This is similar to that of water wheels only difference is that the turbine is more equipped to take more water in pockets in the turbine that can hold water in it during rotation. This increases the weight of the turbine thereby requiring more force to turn it, thus generating higher amount of power in the process.
Tidal power
Due to the moon’s gravity the water in oceans tend to rise once in 15 days, a large amount of energy is produced during this movement of such a large mass of water both horizontally and vertically. This energy is tapped as in hydroelectricity and electricity is produced. This is called the tidal energy.
When energy is produced from the horizontal movement of tide it is called tidal power and when energy is produced during the vertical movement, it is called the tidal stream power.
Vortex power
V shaped vortices are produced at rocky surfaces of water, the energy at these points the very high because water passes through the narrow mouth of the vortex into the broader are. The electricity produced from these places are called vortex power.
Wave power
Waves, which move due to force of wind, have a lot of inherent energy in them. This is tapped and is used to produce electricity. The power is used to turn the turbine which in turn produces electricity.
