Using Tidal Power to Produce Electricity
March 20 2008 / by Venessa Posavec
Category: Energy Year: 2015 Rating: 6
Information about new forms of renewable energy seems to come
out in waves. A few months ago, solar was everywhere. Now, I’m
seeing a lot about energy derived from water. In particular, two
projects caught my eye, one in Ireland and the other in South
Korea. Both operate on the premise of harnessing the power of
fast-moving tidal streams to generate electricity.
In Northern Ireland, Marine Current Turbines is planning to have the world’s first tidal stream device up and running this Monday. The SeaGen turbine is being installed in the mouth of Strangford Lough – one of the fastest tidal flows – giving it the capacity to provide sustainable electricity to about 1,000 homes. The company believes it can improve the technology significantly, so that one turbine could power over 400,000 homes by 2015.
(cont.)
The other project, still in concept phase, is a joint venture
between British tidal power company Lunar Energy and Korean Midland
Power Company. 
They hope to build a field of 300 60ft.-high turbines on the
sea floor off the coast of South Korea. But, the Korean authorities
require a testing phase on one turbine before the whole scheme is
allowed to be implemented, so testing won’t commence until at least
next year. The finished product would provide electricity for
200,000 homes by 2015.
There’s a clear trend that the world is embracing alternative sources of clean, renewable, zero emission power sources now more than ever. By utilizing energy generated from wind, solar, and water, how long will it be before we can live completely off the grid?
Comment Thread (1 Response)
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The company believes it can improve the technology significantly, so that one turbine could power over 400,000 homes by 2015 —Wow. That’s amazing and reinforces the idea that new tech will solve our present energy needs (although I do wonder if by then our need for faster computation will dramatically increase energy demand).
As far as living off-grid, doesn’t it seem that we are on the verge of creating a new micro grid that runs through everything? Like capillaries compared to arteries.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis March 20, 2008
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