What is Tidal Power?
Tidal power harnesses the power of the tides to turn a rotor or generate electricity. Mankind has been harnessing this power since at least Roman times, when tidal mills were made to grind grain. Tidal mills work by being set up next to a small dam near a small tidal inlet or estuary. As the tide rises, the dam is left open, and the water rises through it, building up on the other side. Then, as the tide reaches its maximum extent, the door of the dam is brought down and the water is trapped. The tide falls, and when it reaches a suitable level, a small channel in the dam is opened up and the water flows out, through a waterwheel, which can then be used to grind grain. Modern tidal power devices operate on a much larger scale, though they have only found limited use in electricity generation so far. Still, tidal power is much more reliable than wind energy and solar power, and more recently there have been several new design and deployment initiatives of tidal power generators. Tidal p
Tidal Power is the generation of electrical power through the harnessing of the ebb and flow of the tides. HOW DOES IT WORK? A barrage, which is in fact a huge dam, is built across a river estuary or bay. This barrage has gates in it which allow the water to flow into the barrage with the incoming tide. These gates are then closed when the tide begins to go back out. This water which is now trapped inside the barrage is now called a ‘hydrostatic head’. The greater the head the more power can be generated from the outflowing water. There are other gates within the barrage which are now opened; these gates contain hydro-electric generators, very similar to the ones used in Hydropower. These generators are now turned by the outflowing water and power is generated. The tidal range has to be sufficient in order for this to be a practical means to generate power. This range should be in excess of 5 metres otherwise the power generated is not sufficient. The main downfall of tidal power gener
