![]() Rugged coastal environments in many areas may make it difficult for engineers to maintain and repair tidal energy equipment. Equipment maintenance can be challenging.It takes a long time for planned tidal energy plants to be constructed and to get them running. Such a long gestation period, along with the high costs of construction, may not be considered worth the investment compared with other renewable energy projects such as wind and solar energy.īad weather and storm events such as hurricanes that occur along coastlines can damage tidal power equipment. The construction of a tidal energy plant alters the view along coastlines that are sought after for other uses such as economic activities, recreation, and tourism. To date, there are only a few tidal energy plants that have been constructed worldwide, and we don’t yet know all of the environmental impacts, nor ultimately whether the benefits of this technology will outweigh the costs.Ĭontinued research is needed to determine the appropriateness of this technology compared with other sustainable energy sources. To solve this issue, tidal energy storage capacity will need to be developed for transmission during the remaining 60% of the time. This translates to limited energy collection that occurs during only about 40% of the year. Surging tides only occur during 10 hours out of every 24 hour period. This makes it difficult for tidal energy to provide electricity for any communities but those that are in close proximity to coastlines. Currently, there are no collection or storage systems that exist to transport tidal energy to inland areas. In many cases, the energy generated by the tides is a long distance from where the electricity will be consumed inland. Thus far, only 40 of such appropriate sites have been identified globally, limiting the potential for development. ![]() ![]() ![]() Tidal energy plants require specific site characteristics. The construction of tidal energy plants requires very large initial capital investments. Until further research is done, we don’t yet know all of the long-term environmental impacts of underwater tidal power turbines and barrages. These barrages block the flow of the tides in estuaries in order to capture tidal energy.īecause estuaries act as nurseries and provide habitat for many species of marine life, building barrages in this habitat can have many negative impacts, including the disruption of fish migrations and the movement of large marine animals.Įstuaries also help to filter out the sediments and pollutants from rivers and other water bodies prior to the water reaching the ocean. If barrages are built in estuaries, these ecosystems can no longer efficiently provide such important ecosystem services. The primary form of tidal power plant that exists today is the barrage, a dam built across estuaries. Environmental effects and disruptions to the tidal flow.This lower cost of equipment and facility replacement can translate to lower energy costs for consumers who use the plant’s energy.Īlthough tidal energy plants are very expensive to construct, they are relatively inexpensive to run, and require few staff to run them. The world’s oldest tidal energy plant, La Rance, in France has continued to efficiently produce large amounts of electricity since 1966. The estimated lifespan of tidal energy plants is about 75-100 years, which is much longer than nuclear power plants.
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