Tidal Energy

La Rance tidal power plant in La Rance, France

Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a
form of hydropower that converts the
energy of tides into useful forms of power -
mainly electricity. This is the only form of
energy whose source is the moon.
Basic physics of tides
•Gravitational pull of the sun and • There are two high tides and two
moon and the pull of the centrifugal low tides during each period of
force of rotation of the earth-moon rotation of the earth.
system. • Spring and Neap tides depend on
the orientation of the sun, moon, and
the earth.

▫ High spring tides occur when the sun

and moon line up with the earth. This
occurs whether they are either on same
or opposite side.
▫ Low neap tides occur when the sun
and moon line up at 90 ͦ to each other.
• Flood Currents: currents moving in
•When a landmass lines up with the the direction of the coast.
earth-moon system, the water • Ebb Currents: the current receding
around it is at high tide. from the coast
•When a landmass is at 90 ͦ to the
earth-moon system, the water
around it is at low tide.
Developing Nations
that could receive
significant benefits
from Tidal Energy
________________________________________
Indian Ocean: Comoros, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles.
Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam.
Pacific Ocean: Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
Central and South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador,
Guyana, Panama, Surinam.
Atlantic Ocean: Cape Verde.
All coastal nations with tidal passes between coral reefs
or offshore islands.
Two types of tidal plant facilities.

• Tidal barrages
• Tidal current turbines
• Dynamic tidal power plants
 1.) Tidal Barrage
• Utilize potential energy
• Tidal barrages are typically dams built
across an estuary or bay.
• consist of turbines, sluice gates,
embankments, and ship locks.
• Two types:

• Single basin system

Basin • Double-basin system

Single basin system-
Ebb generation: During flood tide basin is filled and sluice gates are
closed , trapping water. Gates are kept closed until the tide has
ebbed sufficiently and thus turbines start spinning and generating
electricity.
Flood generation: The basin is filled through the turbine which
generate at flood tide.
Two way generation: Sluice gates and turbines are closed until near
the end of the flood tide when water is allowed to flow through the
turbines into the basin creating electricity. At the point where the
hydrostatic head is insufficient for power generation the sluice
gates are opened and kept open until high tide when they are
closed. When the tide outside the barrage has dropped sufficiently
water is allowed to flow out of the basin through the turbines
again creating electricity.
Double-basin system

• There are two basins, but it operates similar to en

ebb generation, single-basin system. The only
difference is a proportion of the electricity is used
to pump water into the second basin allowing
storage.
Current sites of tidal barrages
• La Rance, Brittany,
France
▫ The first and 2nd largest tidal
barrage power plant
▫ Constructed between 1961 and
1967.
▫ Situated on the Rance River.
▫ Contains 24 reversible 10 MW
bulb turbines generating a
capacity of 240 MW and a net
power output of 480 GWh per
year.
▫ Two- way generation system
and pumped storage.
Annapolis Tidal Generation Facility on the
Bay of Fundy, Canada

Constructed between 1981

and 1984.
Generating capacity of 20
MW and a net output of 30
GW h per year.
Further development is being
considered in the Bay of
Fundy.
2.)Tidal current
turbines
• Make use of the kinetic energy of moving
water to power turbines, in a similar way
to wind turbines that use wind to power
turbines.
• Operate during flood and ebb tides.
• Consists of a rotor, gearbox, and a generator.
These three parts are mounted onto a support
structure. There are three main types:
▫ Gravity structure
▫ Piled structure
▫ Floating structure
• Gravity Structures are massive steel or
concrete structures attached to the base of the
units to achieve stability by their own inertia.
• Piled Structures are pinned to the seabed by
one or more steel or concrete piles. The piles are
fixed to the seabed by hammering if the ground
conditions are sufficiently soft or by pre-drilling,
positioning and grouting if the rock is harder.
• Floating Structures provide a potentially
more convincing solution for deep water
locations.
3)DYNAMIC TIDAL POWER PLANT

•Dynamic tidal power or DTP is a new and

untested method of tidal power generation. It
would involve creating large dam-like structure
extending from the coast straight to the ocean, with
a perpendicular barrier at the far end, forming a
large 'T' shape.
•A single dam can accommodate over 8 GW (8000
MW) of installed capacity.
• A DTP dam is a long dam of 30 to 60 km which
is built perpendicular to the coast, running
straight out into the ocean, without enclosing an
area.
• Other concerns include: shipping routes, marine
ecology, sediments, and storm surges.
Tidal Energy
can be captured
• efficiently and
• inexpensively
using the helical
turbine

Prof. Alexander Gorlov

of Northeastern University
with the helical turbine.
He invented and perfected it.
Features of the
Helical Turbine:

Basic Concept
• designed for hydroelectric applications
in free-flowing water
• operates in ocean, tidal, and river
currents
• does not require expensive dams
that can harm the environment
Features of the
Helical Turbine

Operation
• self-starting with flow as low as 0.6 m/s
• smooth-running
• rotates in same direction regardless
of the direction of flow, making it ideal
for tidal applications
Significant benefits

from using Tidal

Energy include:
include
• Electrification of isolated communities
• Generation for the grid
•Regrowth of coral reefs using
mineral accretion technology
• Substitution of imported petroleum
used to generate electricity
ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS

• Tidal energy use involving dams creates many of the

same environmental concerns as damming rivers.
Tidal dams restrict fish migration and cause silt build
up which affects tidal basin ecosystems in negative
ways.
• Systems that take advantage of natural narrow
channels with high tidal flow rates have less negative
environmental impact than dammed systems. But
they are not without environmental problems.
• Both systems use turbines that can cause fish kills.
But these are being replaced by new, more fish
friendly turbines. The art and science of
environmentally friendly hydro engineering is well
advanced and will certainly be applied to any tidal
energy project.
• But even with dams, the environmental impact of
tidal energy projects may prove to be smaller than
our use of any other energy resource. Economics will
severely limit the number of tidal energy projects.
Major Tidal plants in World
Tidal plants in India
• West Bengal Renewable Energy Development
Agency in sunderbans.
• The Indian state of Gujarat is planning to host
South Asia's first commercial-scale tidal power
station. The company Atlantis Resources is to
install a 50MW tidal farm in the Gulf of Kutch
on India's west coast, with construction starting
early in 2012. later on it is decided to increase
the capacity up to 250MW plants.
Tidal plants in Kerala
• Situated near the breakwaters of Vizhinjam Port
which is about 20 km
from Thiruvananthapuram city. The station
started its commercial operation in 1991. This
oscillating water column (OWC) produces about
150 kw of power.
Economics
• Tidal energy is not cost competitive because it
is generally not commercially available.
• When selecting a spot to set up a tidal energy
station it is important to make sure that it will
be economically feasible.
• To set up a tidal facility with an average
annual output of 1050 MW would cost about
1.2 billion dollars, not including maintenance
and running costs.
• This is far more expensive than coal and oil.