A Brief Note On Wave And Tide Energy

• Global projections indicate a long-term market potential of nearly 250,000 MW of offshore wind based on a

Wave power devices can generate power 90% of the time whereas other sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, can only generate power 20 – 30% of the time

2. tidal currents that pass through narrow channels can be used to turn underwater pivoting turbines, which produce energy. potential for usable tidal energy increases with an increase in tidal range because a higher tidal range means more water moving in and out of the turbine system.

“Tidal power generates energy from the tides moving in and out…wave power generates energy from the rise and fall of waves.” (Cunningham.) Capturing the ocean’s movement is a great form of renewable energy with waves never running out and that they are available in many areas of the world. There will be no byproducts that will be harmful or will pollute the environment, and to receive the energy there can be many different gathering techniques. In retrospect towards marine growth, submerged wave energy converters will make “safe havens” because they will become artificial reefs with a closed off surface areas. “They insist that if all 28,000 miles of U. S. roadways are covered in these solar cells, it would generate three times more power…” (Cunningham). The hexagonal solar panels would be able to make more productive areas such as a solar parking lot, additionally paying for themselves and power other homes or businesses. In order to improve the safety of every community, there would be heating elements to keep roads snow/ice free, and LEDs to make road lines. There is little maintenance to ensure that the solar panels are in working order, and they are a silent producer of energy. When compared to burning fossil fuels in power stations, solar energy stands out by the fact that it saves money and gives energy security in households. “Human waste is taken to a treatment plant…methanogens go to work…methane is produced as a byproduct.” (Cunningham). Currently, over 200 millions tons of human waste go untreated, and once they get into the clean water, many die from diseases in contact with the fecal matter. When methane is burned as electricity, there would be a decrease in treating water and disposing

Coastal areas in Canada are able generate approximately 37,000 MW (megawatts) or more electricity annually. They are able to do this by harvesting the tidal waves and using devices such as tidal turbines,tidal barrages or tidal fences. These are a variety of methods which allow us to utilize this renewable form of energy with efficiency. Coastal areas harnesses energy when a tidal current or an ocean wave has a vertical or horizontal motion that occurs on one of the tidal devices, which are turbines that can spin. As the turbine spins it produces energy into a generator that's attached to itself, and then the generator converts most of the energy into electricity.The potential gravitational energy caused by the moon, sun and rotation of the earth allow tides to be more frequent and harness a greater amount of energy. This gravitational energy also causes low tides or high tides to occur, which influences the rate in which the water flows into the turbine.

This is why tidal energy generation would be much more efficient than hydroelectricity energy generation in Nova Scotia because there are not many strong flowing rivers. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) located in California stated that the Bay of Fundy had potential to be the best site in North America for tidal energy generation. I believe that Nova Scotia should take advantage of these tides and use them as an important resource for our province. After the costs of the infrastructure and maintenance, tidal energy generation would be essentially free, as the tides move on their own. A lot of energy can be created through tides, as tidal power is very sensitive to speed. The amount of energy formed is the cube of the speed of the water. For example, if the speed of the flowing water doubles, the energy output is eight times greater. This energy can be formed from both the change in the height of tides, which is potential energy, and the flow of the water, which is kinetic energy.. As of now, the main technologies used are in-stream devices, barrages, and tidal lagoons. I think the best solution for Nova Scotia right now would be to build a tidal lagoon in the bay of Fundy. A tidal lagoon is like a barrage (which is essentially a dam built across the whole estuary) but it can be built as a self contained structure. This makes the cost much lower and they can also continuously generate, unlike a

For renewable sources of energy it is the most reliable even though it is variable. Different power generation methods have finite resources that will eventually run out. Other renewable energy resources while powerful are either unreliable such as wind are not always available such as solar energy. Through the use of dams we can store water to be used when needed to supply the demand caused by energy consumption. Using gravity water is allowed to flow through a turbine causing a generator to make electricity. When demand is low the water can be pumped back up into the containing reservoir to make another hydroelectric head. This process can just be continued creating a reliable capacity of energy. In the use of tidal power generation electricity comes in and out with the tide. There is a small marginal effect on the environment because no emission or hazardous waste is being made. While most prime locations for traditional hydroelectric power plants are already taken, there are plenty of locations to be used for tidal power generation. Once the technology to build underwater structures that are able to last against the harsh waves is more manageable there will be plenty of new location ready to be taken throughout the ocean. These generation plants will just be using water and gravity to supply power to meet the ever growing demand of the population. Using water to it full advantage in every facet possible from traditional hydroelectric pumped storage, run of the water types, tidal barrage using shoreline bays and tidal current using the oceans current will make it the greatest resource on

“Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that the gravitational attraction between two bodies is directly proportional to their masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the bodies (Sumich, J.L., 1996; Thurman, H.V., 1994).”

Similar to wind power, tidal power is careful to be a possible foundation of renewable energy since tides are stable and foreseeable. Much similar windmills, tide mills have been castoff since the days of Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages. Incoming water was kept in large ponds, and as the tides went out, they twisted waterwheels that produced mechanical power to mill grain.

Waves are produced by winds blowing across the surface of the ocean. However, because waves travel across the ocean, their arrival time at the wave power facility may be more predictable than the wind.In contrast, tidal energy is driven by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Tidal energy is produced through the use of tidal energy generators. These large underwater turbines are placed in areas with high tidal movements and are designed to capture the kinetic motion of the ebbing and surging of ocean tides in order to produce electricity. Tidal power has great potential for future power and electricity generation because of the massive size of the ocean [29][30].Tidal power has a relative advantage in that it can generate power from

This has led to significant tidal energy potential being identified in the UK, in particular Scotland, Cornwall and Wales, that offer prospect of building large scale turbine farms or barrages to harness tidal energy. New research has indicated that the UK is severely underestimating the amount of energy that could be generated from tidal sources and that a tidal barrage would be expected to generate 15% of the UK’s electricity needs, according to the BBC, (2013).

Tides and currents have existed since before the dawn of man. While the rotation and gravitational forces of the earth act to keep our ocean levels steady, that equilibrium is disrupted by the moon and the sun. The gravitational pull of both the sun and the moon cause the oceans to bulge, and as this bulge moves around the planet, the tides occur. Furthermore, the moon, although significantly smaller than the sun, has a far greater affect on the tides due to its relatively small distance from the earth. In addition, the tides also vary in intensity based on the alignment of the sun, the moon, and the earth. When aligned, a higher than normal, lunar high tide occurs. But why are these flows relevant to renewable energy? They are important because that tidal energy can be harnessed for use as a power source. Tidal power, like other renewable energy sources, is inexhaustible. In addition, there is a major advantage over other clean energies, in that tidal energy is very predictable. For example, there are not any wind charts telling what time of day the winds will be optimal but there are charts of the tides. Therefore, by taking advantage of this resource, your community could work towards being energy independent and self-sustaining. Moreover, there could be an opportunity to use any excess power generated as an income source.

If less than one-tenth of one percent of this stored solar energy could be converted into electric power, it would supply more than 20 times the total amount of electricity consumed in the United States on any given day ("Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion"). Imagine just a fraction of the oceans energy found just in temperature can be used to power the world. Some already have and such technologies have been created to suit the need to obtain this elusive power. However, huge turbines are needed to take and create the power from the temperature. These huge turbines can be used in different methods to

Beginning with its creation, Earth has been in contact with many natural, environmental disasters. Majorities of the chaos still have effects on people living in coastal areas. Because of the Earth’s large capacity of water and relationship with gravity, tidal waves through extreme tidal storms are created. The Moon heavily influences the movement of Earth’s tides by shifting and relating land features, using its gravitational pull to change the height of the tides, and also affecting the speed of the Moon’s revolution.

The world is in a crisis. Traditional energy sources such as oil, coal, and natural gas are dwindling at an alarming rate. Governments are struggling to purchase those resources in enough volume to feed their citizens. It is becoming abundantly clear that something needs to be done to meet, and eventually surpass current energy demands. One of the resources that is essentially unlimited is a resource called Tidal Energy. Tidal Energy has been estimated that it can create 2110 terrawatt-hours in the United States (7) alone. That is an astonishing amount of energy.