TIDAL POWER NOW STARTING TO PLAY A ROLE.
Tidal power one of the most promising renewables mankind can use as power generation. From large wing turbines to small batches of tubes attached to harbour walls the flexibility offered is incredible. With so many offshore structures it seems to us strange why tidal wasn’t added to the legs or bases as an additional power source especially as the tidal generation would continue even with wind still conditions. In fact, a report published by Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult back in October revealed that the cost of generating power from tidal streams sunk by 40 percent since 2018. The Government-backed researcher also forecasts that prices could drop below that of nuclear energy in a decade or so. Experts have also noted how the energy produced by tidal waves come at predictable hours every day, making it more reliable than intermittent solar or wind. Professor Conchúr Ó Brádaigh, Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, has previously explained that this is tidal power’s “big advantage”. He said: “The big advantage of tidal energy is that its entirely predictable. If you can predict the tidal flow for six months, you can predict it forever. That’s a great advantage on wind energy for utilities, because they can predict exactly when the tidal energy will be generated.” However, tidal firms have claimed they can generate large amounts of electricity for 24 hours a day and provide a constant baseload source of power. Stuart Murphy, founder of tidal range energy system TPGen24, said “We have got the coastal ranges, and the tidal ranges. We start using them, we start reducing our energy bills significantly, and we won’t be reliant on Russian gas or French or Norwegian electricity.” He added that “we have the best solution in the world for renewable energy. Only tidal range provides base load, and can produce power from a single site 24/7.” The engineering is straightforward albeit costly but for a country surrounded with tides it must be part of the mix.
