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| Is Tidal Power Bringing a Wave of Change to America? |
| GREEN LIVING - ALTERNATIVE ENERGY | |||||||||||||||||
| Written by Lucy Brake | |||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 11 January 2011 00:00 | |||||||||||||||||
Is Tidal Power Bringing a Wave of Change to America?
About Tidal Power With around 70% of the world’s surface covered in water, circulating in vast tides and waves around the globe, you would think we would have figured out a way to harness all that energy. But sadly no, we continue to rely on non-renewable fossil fuels dragged out of the ground to power our cars, homes and lives. “the geographical features of both the Pacific Northwest and Atlantic Northeast coasts offer good conditions for making tidal and wave power”(Source: Environmental Protection Agency ) Why Use Tidal Power?The ocean has two kinds of renewable energy; thermal energy which comes from the heat of the sun, and mechanical energy which is derived from waves and tides. These forms of energy hold enormous potential to supply our Capturing the energy in the oceans and converting it into electricity is a complex and expensive task. The American Public Power Association explains that near shore tidal power activates generators using barrages or dams, tidal fences and tidal turbines. There are offshore systems that are located in deep water (generally more than 125 feet) to capture energy using pumps, hoses and floating platforms. There are also onshore systems that use pendulum devices, pumps and oscillating water columns. Wave Power - EcoTechWorks
Wave Power: New Scientist Video
It would appear that the issue lies in tidal power generation technologies not yet being economically viable enough to compete with conventional sources. They tend to have low operating costs but high construction costs with a long payback period. In addition, selection of the right site is critical to minimize the environmental impacts. According to the EPA some of the challenges with tidal energy systems are “protecting shorefronts, keeping sea life migration patterns and habitat intact, and preventing alterations in ocean temperature or sedimentation processes”. In addition, water and geographic conditions must be right for the technologies to work.
"protecting shorefronts, keeping sea life migration patterns and habitat intact, and preventing alterations in ocean temperature or sedimentation processes"(Source: Environmental Protection Agency) Ocean Energy - Wave Power Station - VOITH Oregon State Lab – Wallace Energy Systems and Renewable Facility: Sustainable Today So is there really potential for tidal power to be the energy of the future? A rural Washington community thinks so; together with the local public utility company, an Indian tribe and a renewable energy company, they are working on a pilot project which will see energy harvested from the ocean’s waves. If you are interested to find out more about the power of the ocean:
keep the Earth Beautiful! 
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power needs in a sustainable manner. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that “the geographical features of both the Pacific Northwest and Atlantic Northeast coasts offer good conditions for making tidal and wave power”. So why are there no tidal power or wave power plants in America at the moment?
Have a look at the Clean Energy States Alliance work building markets for clean energy resources.
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Environmental Protection Agency:
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Public Power Org:
http://www.publicpower.org/utility/index.cfm?ItemNumber=13712 |
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Public Power Org #12391:
http://www.publicpower.org/newsletters/ppmagazinedetailarchive.cfm?ItemNumber=12391 |
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Clean Energy State Org :
http://www.cleanenergystates.org/JointProjects/marine_energy.htm |
| Labeled photographs courtesy of photographer Sharon H. |
| PhotoBucket.com |
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