Tidal energy examples1/19/2024 ![]() With two meters of sea level rise, it fell to 40. This number dropped to 47 in simulations with one meter of sea level rise. Of their 978 theoretical estuaries, a total of 54 had currents fast enough to drive tidal turbines. While none of the estuaries were based on real locations, they could “reasonably represent the geometries of many, many estuaries worldwide,” says Khojasteh. Khojasteh and his colleagues came to this conclusion after modeling 978 different hypothetical estuaries with varying shapes, tidal ranges, and rates of sea level rise, among other factors. In a recent paper, scientists including Danial Khojasteh, a hydrodynamics expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia, show how sea level rise could upend the viability of tidal energy in sites around the world, turning presently prime spots into duds. ![]() It’s this last variable-sea level-that threatens to throw a wrench in the world’s tidal power plans. Rising and falling by 12 meters, the bay has one of the largest tidal ranges in the world.īut a site’s currents and tidal range, and its potential for tidal power generation, is a complex consequence of myriad factors, including the basin’s width, length, and shape, the inflow from rivers, and the height of the sea. The Bay of Fundy in Atlantic Canada, for instance, is an ideal candidate. To produce energy, tidal generators need fast currents or a sizable swing in sea level between high tide and low tide. Globally, tidal power could potentially produce between 150 and 800 terawatt hours of renewable energy per year-at the upper end, that’s more than Canada’s energy production from wind, water, nuclear, fossil fuels, and other sources combined in 2019.įor tidal power generation, location is everything. Primarily generated by the gravitational pull of the moon, tidal power is more predictable than wind, and it works well alongside solar power, generating electricity at night when the sun is down but when people fire up their computers, televisions, and other appliances. Hidden in the ebb and flow of the tides is a wealth of energy. Leading up to Earth Day on April 22, Hakai Magazine and our partner outlets are sharing stories about the Great Decarbonization and the push to electrify everything. ![]() This story is part of Climate Desk, a journalistic collaboration dedicated to exploring the impacts of climate change.
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