Tidal / Estuary / River produced Power. To me it seems daft that we don't make......................?

Question

more use of this sustainable energy source.

I just posted a Q re Wind Farms and one of the answers reminded me that we have other renewable and sustainable sources. No pollution, efficient energy exchange (mechanical turbine to electricity in one step, aesthetically friendly and can be suited to mass production or local requirements.

Of course we do have Hydro-electric plants, but surely there is a big opportunity to utilise the tides, estuaries and rivers in a similar manner.

What are your views?

Answer 1

the problem currently with harnessing wave power is the waves to not have the same horse power as a gravity fed hydro electric dam.
However there is a very vast ocean and much energy to be harnessed from it...
They have invented floating sea bobs that generate electricity by pushing a liquid back and forward in it.
Also there may be plans in the future to harness the tides of the sea using huge turbines beneath the sea, but this is also unviable....
In my opinion and I study Engineering in Renewable Energy is that wave power is not very viable as I mentioned before as there is not enough horsepower behind a wave as compared to a windmill.....
Many may disagree with me on this but this is my views that were also influenced by Nichola Tesla on Wave Power in The Problem of Increasing Human Energy........
I can see there is energy there to be harnessed, but I think research should be going into things like harnessing the winds of the upper atmosphere before tidal wave....... Too many reasons for tidal wave not to be viable.....
But where there is a will there is a way, I wouldnt put my money near a wave power company yet.

Also large scale dams built for electricity generation are no longer considered "Green" as they often damage the environment in building it and take too long to pay back in energy....
Most of the world's sources of hydro have already been tapped.
However microhydro is certainly a boom industry as it only diverts part of the river and doesnt do any local environmental impact......
So really micro-hydro is in the spotlight everything else is just research and development, prototypes or speculation........

Answer 2

We can and we do make some use of tides and rivers for power but there are downsides to deal with. Generally to power a turbine you have to create a physical barrier to the water flow and install tunnels or tubes where the turbines can work. If you block the flow of a river, you change the ecology in that zone and you also have to consider if a barrier will cause flooding problems upstream. Tides sound good but again you need to create enough pressure gradient over a short distance to power a turbine and this means a barrier which changes the whole ecology of the area. Wave power is promising as it can have least effect on local ecology but so far it is not technically proven and efficient. Tides work in both directions and with any design there will be times of the day when electricity production stops as the tides change. There is the engineering challenge of combining electricity, moving parts and salt water. Dont forget that there is an ecological price to the construction of equipment and any structure required. It does sound a good idea but there are limitations. It makes most sense as part of a portfolio of electricity production technlogies including solar, wind and water.

Answer 3

Yes the power of the tide is something to be harnessed and will never go away, opposed to wind which can vary in it's strength etc.

The bristol channel is the 2nd fastest and strongest tidal estuary in the world and the power that this could greate would be immense, however the ecological impact on the area and nature, animals, birds, fish stocks etc is so great that it will need carefull study before the final decision is made to create a barrier across from Brean to Wales...

But we should consider this power and perhaps install smaller water turbines on mountain and hilly areas to capture the water flowing down these strong rivers, enough to help produce power for small village communities.

Answer 4

You will have to think about this one a little. The true consequences of free energy would be total global economic devastation. Renewable energy is something that politicians like to talk about, they even cycle to work when they're being filmed, but in reality this society would collapse without expensive wasteful inefficient energy production.

Consider this. If re-usable energy sources were developed, then one day they would arrive in Africa. With free energy it would be possible to resolve all of Africa's problems. Then Africa would be able to pay off all its debts, that are currently crippling the country. Once the debts are paid and Africa becomes capable of supporting itself, then the west would lose the massive interest payments that they receive each year from that country, and Africa would become a very serious competitor on the global marketplace. This would cost the developed countries far more than they could afford to lose. The developed world's economies would go into free-fall, while the developing world's economies would be booming. There are more opportunities to exploit renewable energy in poor countries, like Africa, than there are in developed countries, like the west. So, renewable energy is tinkered with, but never really utilized to the full, because the eventual consequences would be far worse than any rich capitalist could ever possibly imagine.

Answer 5

The Nile is located in Northern Africa and runs through Egypt,were it’s mouth is located. The Nile River stretches 3470 miles and is the longest river in the world. Interesting Facts: The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It then flows into the Mediterranean sea where it is no longer flowing strong enough to keep the SALT WATER OUT AND FRESH WATER IN. The water from the Mediterranean Sea is flowing in and causing disruptions in the animals and plants. A while down the river the are six rapids called the cataracts, this area is also were the Aswan High Dam is located it was built to control the water level.

Answer 6

If it was a good source of energy, we would be using it now. It IS being used in some areas that have very high tides and a narrow inlet to a large bay. But it isn't worth the trouble in most areas.

Africa has plenty of coal, but environmentalists oppose them using it. And the middle east is swimming in oil. They have all the cheap energy they could want. Have all their problems been solved? I don't think so.

Answer 7

These form are too inefficient. Coal and oil while we still got some are much more efficient and reliable. With these you chose when you use them but with wind for example you cant.

Answer 8

Nice idea but even combined with all the other renewable sources it would barley make a dent in our requirements.

The choice is a simple one. Status quo or Nuclear.

Answer 9

i think it has something to do with maintenance costs and the huge variety of forces produced by different tides at different times of the year

Answer 10

The problem isn't that it won't work, it's that there are cheaper sources of power right now.