[Tidal Power]

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Introduction, Tidal barrage, Current

technology, Pumping, Economics, Social
Implications, Environmental Aspects,Tidal
streams, Current technology, Economics,
Social Implications, Environmental
Aspects, Conclusions

Tidal Power

Introduction

If there is one thing we can safely predict

and be sure of on this planet, it is the
coming and going of the tide. This gives
this form of renewable energy a distinct
advantage over other sources that are not
as predictable and reliable, such as wind
or solar. The Department of Trade and
Industry has stated that almost 10% of
the United Kingdom’s electricity needs
could be met by tidal power.

Why do the tides come and go? It is all to

do with the gravitational force of the
Moon and Sun, and also the rotation of
the Earth. This is displayed in the
following diagram

Figure 1 Gravitational effect of the Sun

and the Moon on tidal range
(Adapted from Boyle, 1996)

Sourced: (ACRE) Australian CRC for

Renewable Energy LTD
The diagram shows how the gravitational
attraction of the moon and sun affect the
tides on Earth. The magnitude of this
attraction depends on the mass of the
object and its distance away. The moon
has the greater effect on earth despite
having less mass than the sun because it
is so much closer. The gravitational force
of the moon causes the oceans to bulge
along an axis pointing directly at the
moon. The rotation of the earth causes
the rise and fall of the tides. When the
sun and moon are in line their
gravitational attraction on the earth
combine and cause a “spring” tide. When
they are as positioned in the first diagram
above, 90° from each other, their
gravitational attraction each pulls water in
different directions, causing a “neap” tide.

The rotational period of the moon is

around 4 weeks, while one rotation of the
earth takes 24 hours; this results in a tidal
cycle of around 12.5 hours. This tidal
behaviour is easily predictable and this
means that if harnessed, tidal energy
could generate power for defined periods
of time. These periods of generation could
be used to offset generation from other
forms such as fossil or nuclear which have
environmental consequences. Although
this means that supply will never match
demand, offsetting harmful forms of
generation is an important starting point
for renewable energy.

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State of the art / Current

Status

There are two options for getting energy

from the tide, a tidal barrage or utilising
tidal streams.

THE TIDAL BARRAGE

Introduction

This is where a dam or barrage is built

across an estuary or bay that experiences
an adequate tidal range. This tidal range
has to be in excess of 5 metres for the
barrage to be feasible (www.iclei.org).
The purpose of this dam or barrage is to
let water flow through it into the basin as
the tide comes in. The barrage has gates
in it that allow the water to pass through.
The gates are closed when the tide has
stopped coming in, trapping the water
within the basin or estuary and creating a
hydrostatic head. As the tide recedes
outwith the barrage, gates in the barrage
that contain turbines are opened, the
hydrostatic head causes the water to
come through these gates, driving the
turbines and generating power. Power can
be generated in both directions through
the barrage but this can affect efficiency
and the economics of the project.

This technology is similar to Hydropower,

something that we have a lot of
experience with in Scotland. There is
potential for a project of this kind in
Scotland, one place in particular which
has been looked at is the Solway Firth in
south west Scotland, where there is a
tidal range of 5.5 metres [1-The Open
University Renewable Energy Pack T251].

The construction of a barrage requires a

very long civil engineering project. The
barrage will have environmental and
ecological impacts not only during
construction but will change the area
affected forever. Just what these impacts
will be is very hard to measure as they
are site specific, and each barrage is
different.

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Current Technology
The following diagram is a simplified
version of a tidal barrage.

Figure 2 Ebb generating system with a

bulb turbine
(Adapted from Energy Authority of NSW
Tidal Power Fact Sheet)

Sourced: (ACRE) Australian CRC for

Renewable Energy LTD

There are different types of turbines that

are available for use in a tidal barrage. A
bulb turbine is one in which water flows
around the turbine. If maintenance is
required then the water must be stopped
which causes a problem and is time
consuming with possible loss of
generation. When rim turbines are used,
the generator is mounted at right angles
to the to the turbine blades, making
access easier. But this type of turbine is
not suitable for pumping and it is difficult
to regulate its performance. Tubular
turbines have been proposed for the UK’s
most promising site, The Severn Estuary,
the blades of this turbine are connected
to a long shaft and are orientated at an
angle so that the generator is sitting on
top of the barrage. The environmental
and ecological effects of tidal barrages
have halted any progress with this
technology and there are only a few
commercially operating plants in the
world, one of these is the La Rance
barrage in France, for more information
see the La Rance Case Study.

Figure 3: Bulb Turbine (Copyright Boyle,

1996)

Sourced: (ACRE) Australian CRC for

Renewable Energy LTD
 Figure 4: Rim Turbine (Copyright Boyle,
1996)

Sourced: (ACRE) Australian CRC for

Renewable Energy LTD

Figure 5: Tubular Turbine (Copyright

Boyle, 1996)

Sourced: (ACRE) Australian CRC for

Renewable Energy LTD

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Pumping

The turbines in the barrage can be used

to pump extra water into the basin at
periods of low demand. This usually
coincides with cheap electricity prices,
generally at night when demand is low.
The company therefore buys the
electricity to pump the extra water in, and
then generates power at times of high
demand when prices are high so as to
make a profit. This has been used in
Hydro Power, and in that context is known
as pumped storage.

The power available from the

turbine at any particular instant is
given by:

Where,

Cd = Discharge Coefficient

A = Cross sectional area (m2)

G = gravity = 9.81

r = density (kg/m3)

The discharge coefficient accounts for the

restrictive effect of the flow passage
within the barrage on the passing water.

The equation above illustrates how

important the difference between the
water levels of the sea and the basin, (Z1-
Z2), is when calculating the power
produced.

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Economics

The capital required to start construction

of a barrage has been the main stumbling
block to its deployment. It is not an
attractive proposition to an investor due
to long payback periods. This problem
could be solved by government funding or
large organisations getting involved with
tidal power. In terms of long term costs,
once the construction of the barrage is
complete, there are very small
maintenance and running costs and the
turbines only need replacing once around
every 30 years. The life of the plant is
indefinite and for its entire life it will
receive free fuel from the tide.

The economics of a tidal barrage are very

complicated. The optimum design would
be the one that produced the most power
but also had the smallest barrage
possible.

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Social Implications

The building of a tidal barrage can have

many social consequences on the
surrounding area. During the construction
of the barrage, the amount of traffic and
people in the area will increase
dramatically and will last for a number of
years. The La Rance tidal barrage in
France took over 5 years to build. This will
also bring revenue to the area from the
tourism and hospitality industry that will
accommodate all the different types of
visitors that the barrage will bring. This
will give a boost to the local economy.

The barrage can be used as a road or rail

link, providing a time saving method of
crossing the bay or estuary. There is also
the possibility of incorporating wind
turbines into the barrage to generate
extra power. The barrage would affect
shipping and navigation and provision
would have to be made to allow ships to
pass through.

The bay would become available for

recreation; the waters would be calmer
not immediately after the barrage but
further in towards the land. This would be
another tourist attraction and become a
feature of the area.
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Environmental Aspects

Perhaps the largest disadvantages of tidal

barrages are the environmental and
ecological affects on the local area. This is
very difficult to predict, each site is
different and there are not many projects
that are available for comparison. The
change in water level and possible
flooding would affect the vegetation
around the coast, having an impact on the
aquatic and shoreline ecosystems. The
quality of the water in the basin or
estuary would also be affected, the
sediment levels would change, affecting
the turbidity of the water and therefore
affecting the animals that live in it and
depend upon it such as fish and birds.
Fish would undoubtedly be affected
unless provision was made for them to
pass through the barrage without being
killed by turbines. All these changes
would affect the types of birds that are in
the area, as they will migrate to other
areas with more favourable conditions for
them.

These effects are not all bad, and may

allow different species of plant and
creature to flourish in an area where they
are not normally found. But these issues
are very delicate, and need to be
independently assessed for the area in
question.

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TIDAL STREAMS

Introduction

Tidal streams are fast flowing volumes of

water caused by the motion of the tide.
These usually occur in shallow a sea
where a natural constriction exists which
forces the water to speed up. The
technology involved is very similar to
wind energy, but there are some
differences. Water is 800 times denser
than air and has a much slower flowrate;
this means that the turbine experiences
much larger forces and moments. This
results in turbines with much smaller
diameters. The turbines must either be
able to generate power on both ebbs of
the tide or be able to withstand the
structural strain. This technology is still in
its infancy despite the potential for a
reliable and predictable source; therefore
it has not been included in the possible
technologies discussed with relevance to
the Renewables Obligation for Scotland.
The experiences from the development of
wind power can be applied to the
technology. Scotland has a definite
potential for tidal stream energy to be
converted to electricity, one area of focus
is the Pentland Firth off the north coast.

Tidal stream technology has the

advantage over tidal barrages when you
compare environmental and ecological
issues. This technology is less intrusive
than on and offshore wind, and tidal
barrages, any hazard to navigation or
shipping would be no more than that
experienced by current offshore
installations. Tidal Stream systems often
have to be installed in difficult coastal
waters and the installation and
maintenance methods are often
complicated, but these hold they key for
ensuring the success of the technology.

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Current Technology

Energy can be captured from tidal

streams using two methods, Tidal fences
and Tidal turbines.

Tidal Fences
These are effectively another form of tidal
barrage. They therefore share some of
the same environmental and social
concerns, but also have the advantage of
being able to have the electrical
generators and transformers above the
water. The flowing diagram shows an
example of a tidal fence.

Tidal Turbines

This form of generation has many

advantages over its other tidal energy
rivals. The turbines are submerged in the
water and are therefore out of sight. They
don’t pose a problem for navigation and
shipping and require the use of much less
material in construction. They are also
less harmful to the environment. They
function best in areas where the water
velocity is 2 - 2.5 m/s [2-Fujita Research].
Above this level the turbine experiences
heavy structural loads and below this not
enough generation takes place. The
following diagram, figure X!!! is an
impression of a tidal turbine farm.

One new technology that has been

developed is the Stingray. This project
has definite potential and planning is
underway for a trial in the North of
Scotland. For more information see the
Stingray Case Study.

Impression of Tidal Turbine Farm

www.windenergy.co.uk/framestidal.htm

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Economics

Tidal stream technology is still in its

infancy and therefore there are no
comparable projects at the present time.
The cost of utilising tidal streams will be
very site specific and depend on the
technology used. The turbine or other
generating plant equipment can be
considered to have a similar cost to wind.

Once installed, electricity will be produced

with no fuel costs and will be completely
predictable. Maintenance costs will be the
main costs during the life of the project.

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Social Implications

Tidal Streams are common in remote

areas. This means that careful
consideration of the wishes of the local
community is required to ensure the
scheme can work to its potential. Being
under water avoids aesthetic problems
and shipping and navigation should not
be affected provided it is taken into
consideration when planning. The scheme
can provide employment during
construction and operation, which will add
to the local economic prosperity. Also,
these schemes are unique at present and
would help to put the area on the map.

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Environmental Aspects

The environmental effects of utilising tidal

streams are in no way as severe as those
for a tidal barrage. They will obviously
affect the seabed where they are
positioned and this might have an effect
on the aquatic life in the area. This is
again site specific and hard to predict; as
long as proper environmental impact
assessments are done then this can be
avoided or minimised.

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Conclusions

Tidal energy has potential to become a

viable option for large scale, base load
generation in Scotland. Tidal Streams are
the most attractive method, having
reduced environmental and ecological
impacts and being cheaper and quicker
installed. The proposed Stingray project is
important to demonstrate the potential
for the tidal energy industry in Scotland.