TIDAL ENERGY

1. TIDAL POWER PLANT

Energy is obtained from the tides in the same way as in the case of
hydropower plant by making dams. But it is very difficult to harness and
control of energy obtained from the tides because of its non uniform tidal range.
When tides come into the shore, they can be trapped in reservoirs behind dams.
Then when the tide drops, the water behind the dam can be let out just like in a
regular hydroelectric power plant. This work needs large increases in tides. An
increase of at least 16 feet between low tide to high tide is needed. There are
only a few places where this tide change occurs around the earth. Some power
plants are already operating using this idea. One plant in France makes enough
energy from tides to power 240,000 homes.

 Tides

Tides are periodic rise and fall of ocean water.

 Tidal Energy

Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts
the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power.

 Ocean Tides

Ocean tides are periodic rise and fall of ocean water level. These rise and
fall of ocean water level is associated with the movement of earth around the
Sun, Moon and about its own axis. There are two high and two low tides occur

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in a lunar day. A lunar day consists of 24 hrs and 50 min. Moon is nearer to
earth, so the gravitational force due to Moon is approximate 2.6 times higher
than that of due to Sun. Due to this force of attraction of the moon, mass of
water and earth accelerated towards the direction facing the moon. Thus ocean
water facing towards the moon experience high tides and on the opposite side it
experience low tides. These daily tides are called diurnal tides. These tides
includes two low tides and two high tides during one rotation of moon around
the earth as shown in the wave form below: fig. 12.4(p-268)

 Tidal Range

Tidal range is the difference between consecutive high tide and low tide water
level as shown below: fig 12.3 p-267

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  Spring Tides

When sun, moon and earth are in one line then due to combined
gravitational force of attraction high tides are formed. In this position of the
planets tidal range is maximum on full moon and new moon. Such tides are
called spring tides.

 Neap Tides

Due to difference in gravitational force of attraction of sun and moon when

both are in opposite facing each other, low tides are occur. This minimum tidal
range occurs on first quarter or third quarter of the moon and is known as neap
tides.

2. WORKING OF TIDAL POWER PLANT

The tidal power plants are constructed near the narrow bays, where the water
level rises up and then falls down appreciably during the tides. During high
tide, the sea-water enters the dam through gates. When the level of water tends
to fall during low tide, the gates are closed. During high tide, when the level of
water in the sea is high, sea-water flows into the reservoir of the barrage and
turns the turbines. The turbines are connected to the shaft of the armature of the
generator. When the fast moving tides rotates the blades of the shaft, it in turns
rotates the armature inside the generator. The rotating armature produces
electric energy. And during the low tides, when the level of sea-water is low,
the sea-water stored in the barrage reservoir is allowed to flow out into the sea.
Thus, as sea water flows in and out of the tidal barrage during high and low
tides, it turns the turbines to generate electricity.

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The tidal energy is not likely to be a potential source of energy in future
because of the following reasons:

i. There are very few sites around the world which are suitable for building
tidal power plants.

ii. The rise and fall of sea-water during high and low tides is not enough to
generate electricity on a large scale.fig. 12.1 p- 264

3. COMPONENTS USED IN TIDAL POWER PLANT

Tidal power traditionally involves erecting a dam across the opening to a

tidal basin. The dam includes a sluice that is opened to allow the tide to flow
into the basin; the sluice is then closed, and as the sea level drops, traditional
hydropower technologies can be used to generate electricity from the elevated
water in the basin. Some researchers are also trying to extract energy directly
from tidal flow streams.

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Dam:

The function of the dam is to form barrier between the ocean and the
basin.

Barrage System:

Barrages make use of the potential energy in the difference in height (or
head) between high and low tides. Barrage systems usually have high civil
infrastructure costs and extensive environmental issues associated geography.
Barrages are essentially dams across the full width of a tidal estuary. Barrage
has to resist waves whose shock can be severe. There are several types of
barrage tidal power generation systems including: ebb generation, flood
generation, pumping and a two-basin setup.

Sluice Ways:

Sluice gates are the gates used for fill the basin during the high tides and
empity the basin during the low tides. Tidal power which uses the sluice gates
utilize the flap gate, radial gate, vertical rising gate and rising sector.

Power House:

Turbine and generator are the main components of power house. Large
size turbines as in the case of wind power plant are used due to low head of
water.

4. CLASSIFICATION OF TIDAL POWER PLANTS

Tidal power plants are classified into two categories depending upon the basin
used. A tidal power plant with one basin, operating on a regular 12-hour tidal
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cycle, can generate electric power uninterruptedly for four or five hours four
times a day, with corresponding intermissions of one to two hours. (Such a tidal
power plant is called a single-basin, two-cycle plant).

i. Single basin system.

ii. Double basin system.
i. Single Basin Power Plant

This is the simplest system to generate tidal power. In this system only one
basin is used. This basin is separated by a dam or barrage. The sluice way is
opened during high tides to fill the basin and closed during low tide. After
filling of basin power is generated in the same way as in the case of
hydropower plant.fig. 12.5 p-270

ii. Double Basin System

In this system there are two basin are made at two different levels A &B.
basin A is called upper basin and constitute inlet gates. Basin B is lower level
basin and constitute outlet gate. During high tides inlet gate open and upper

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basin is filled with water. A sufficient head is created between upper and lower
level basin. Thus water starts flowing from basin A to basin B and it rotates
turbine to produce electricity. When level of basin A becomes equal to that of
basin B, outlet gates (sluice) are opened and empty the basin B till it reaches the
lower tide level. And outlet gates are closed. After some times the tides are
rises and inlet gates are opened and again the cycle repeated.

fig. 12.6 p-270

5. TIDAL STREAM GENERATOR

A relatively new technology, generating tidal energy in the same way

that wind turbines. The density of water, 832 times greater than the density of
air, means that a single generator can provide significant power at low water
flow rates (compared to wind speed). Since the power varies depending on the
density of medium and the cube of speed, it is easy to see that water speeds of
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nearly one tenth of the wind speed provide the same power the same size of the
turbine system.

There are four dominant engineering approaches; horizontal and vertical

axis turbines, oscillating devices, ventuari effect generators.

i. Horizontal axis mounted turbine: It look similar to a traditional

windmill operating underwater.
ii. Vertical axis mounted turbines: It improved helical design, rotating
with the water, like a turnstile.
iii. Oscillating devices: It use aerofoil sections that do not rotate, but are
instead pushed sideways.
iv. Venturi effect tidal generators: These can be mounted in the
horizontal or vertical position and use a shroud to increase flow rate
through a turbine.

All of these tidal generators have been tested and used for actual
production of electricity. These are the preferred methods of tidal electrical
generation due to the low costs to develop and implement, and the small
environmental impacts associated with hydro-electric generation.

6. ADVANTAGES OF TIDAL POWER PLANT

i. It is renewable energy source because no fossil fuel is required and it is

inexhaustible source of energy.
ii. It has no pollution.
iii. It is everlasting and is not influenced by changing in nature.
iv. It is better than hydropower plant as it independent of rain.

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7. DISADVANTAGES OF TIDAL POWER PLANT
i. Output power is variable.
ii. Initial cost is very high.
iii. Due to salty water it may create corrosion to turbine blades.
iv. Efficiency of tidal power plant is variable due to uneven tidal range.