Have you ever considered the idea of using the amazing massive waves that come washing up on the shores of the beaches as an alternative form of energy? I know that I have never considered this, until the other day when I viewed my friend's pictures from over spring break containing massive waves, that seemed like they had so much power as they pushed her towards the shore.
In order to use tidal power, one would need tidal fences, which is basically a fence that contains holes in it through which the water travels and then in doing so turns the turbines to create electricity. The most common form of using tidal power involves what is known as a barrage tidal plant which is usually constructed along a smaller channel that contains gates with the tidal fences present that generates power and in turn produces electricity. This to me seems like one of the most amazing things, and I had never really thought of it. I now that in the past I have heard of the mills that were present in creeks that used to be turned by the water and create electricity, but since those times I had never examined the use of tidal power that is present in the ocean. After all, it is not something that is thought of as extremely practical, or heard of being used daily by many individuals or groups. Then there are also tidal turbines, which work in many ways similar to wind turbines. When the turbine's blades are turned by the force of the water then electricity is also generated.
I would like to go into further detail about the barrage tidal plant. Specifically the various parts that make up this plant. First there is the barrage, which ultimately has the same duties as a dame does. For instance, it controls the releasing of the water into the area where the turbines are present. Then there is the sluice gates, which is the part that controls the entering and flow of the water into the plant. Then finally there are the turbines which are placed under the water, and is the part that is most responsible for generating the electricity.
There are multiple advantages to this form of energy for instance, there is no energy or waste that is being produced through this process. This electricity can be predicted (due to the ability to predict the tide) and is therefore a reliable source of energy. This could protect the coast from tidal storms because they could be prevented through the use of the barrage tidal plants. Another advantage is that this is a readily available resource that is present consistently, there is enough water and it is extremely inexpensive to use this as a form of energy. Like every story though there are also disadvantages to using this form of energy. For instance, they are quite expensive to build, and they are mainly constructed when there is little demand for electricity. The worst disadvantage of all is that there is little space to construct these plants because they must be constructed in a narrow channel which is not as readily available.
While this is a readily available resource, it is not something that is being considered long term because of many of the disadvantages that are associated with using this form of energy. After all it makes for a difficult form of transportation for other ships and barges when the barrage tidal plant is set up in the middle of a transportation channel.
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Like Janelle, I had also never thought of using our oceans as a form of energy, however I found there are actually three different ways to use the ocean for its energy. The first is through wave energy which Janelle talks about. The second is tidal energy and it occurs 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. In order for this to work well, you need large increases in tides. An increase of at least 16 feet between low tide to high tide is needed. However, there are only a few places on earth where this tide change occurs. There is one of these plants in action in France and it generates enough energy from tides to power 240,000 homes. Lastly, and probably the most surprising to me, is ocean thermal energy. This idea uses temperature differences in the ocean to generate energy. The surface of the ocean water is much warmer than the deep and the deeper you go the colder the ocean gets. It's warmer on the surface because it is warmed by the sunlight. Power plants can be built that use this difference in temperature to make energy. A difference of at least 38 degrees Fahrenheit is needed between the warmer surface water and the colder deep ocean water. Using this type of energy source is called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion or OTEC. It is being used in both Japan and in Hawaii in some demonstration projects.
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