What is Tidal Energy?
Tidal Energy is a renewable energy source. It is produced with the ocean waters surge in and out with tides. For most tidal energy generators, turbines are placed in tidal streams. A tidal stream is a fast-flowing body of water created by tides. A turbine is a machine that takes energy from a flow of fluid. The tidal energy is much more powerful than wind energy, because of their different density. Unlike wind, tides are predictable and stable.
knowledge deepening
I haven't found much informations for the real use of tidal energy, thats because it is not very much used. In switzerland you can't find tidal energy systems because we don't have a sea and its tides. The next tidal power station is found in france on the estuary of the rance river. Tidal energy has grown worldwide in the last few years because of companies, which invested in tidal energy projects. Researchers see tremendous potential and predict a major growth in the next decade. The tidal market is expected to grow around 10% in the period from 2017-2024. Because it is invented in 2007, there are not much new technical improvements or development. There are just a few obstacles for that energy source. A big problem is the price, you need to have very much capital to build a tidal energy system. Another obstacle is also the dependence on mother nature, you need a suitable site where tidal streams are consistently strong.
Examples:
1. In the United States, there are legal concerns about underwater land ownership and environmental impact. Investors are not enthusiastic about tidal energy because there is not a strong guarantee that it will make money or benefit consumers.
2. There are currently three different ways to get tidal energy: tidal streams,barrages and tidal lagoons.
Quiz Question:
Where was the first tidal energy system constructed?
A - 2010 in America
B - 2005 in Germany
C - 2007 in Ireland
Vocabulary:
surge - sudden, strong movement forward
Tides - water level that has risen as a result of the moon's gravitational pull on the Earth.
density - how big is something, how many molecules does it have
source: Tidal energy, 2015 - (National Geographic.org)
The development of Tidal Energy, 2019 (lagersmit.com)
By Devin and Marco