How does the tidal turbine generator work?
The Clean Current tidal turbine generator operates on the same general principles as a wind turbine. As water is about 800 times as dense as air, a 5-knot (9 km/hr) current carries as much energy per square meter as an 80-km/hr wind. That energy is used to turn bidirectional turbine blades that turn a direct drive variable speed generator. Electricity from the turbine generator is fed by underwater cable to a battery system that will then power the facilities on Race Rocks. The battery system is required because the tidal turbine produces intermittent, though completely predictable, flows of electricity depending on the velocity of the tidal currents for each day. The amount of electricity produced each day is predictable over a cycle of about 19 years.
