Not to mention that it can also be used to supply electricity at market prices.Īnd this is precisely what EnFAIT appears to have achieved thanks to the recently installed ‘Eunice’ turbine with a maximum output of 100 kilowatts (kW). With these turbines, the European consortium EnFAIT intends to demonstrate how a tidal power plant of this type can be built, operated and dismantled using this technology by 2022. It is precisely here, between the two main northern islands of Shetland, Unst and Yell, at Bluemull Sound that the company Nova Innovation installed the fourth of a total of six turbines in October 2020. Conditions are particularly favourable between the islands of Shetland and Orkney. North of Scotland, the water masses flow from the North Sea into the North Atlantic and back. The British Isles are particularly exposed to the tides. It is no coincidence that two companies making a name for this technology are based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. This is invaluable not only for grid stability, but also for planning certainty and thus for financing costs. But this form of energy is reliable in that it can be predicted very accurately down to the day and even the hour – and that years in advance.
It varies from one location to the next and also depends on factors such as the phase of the moon and the relative position of the sun. Granted, the strength of the current is not always the same. The only difference is they don’t protrude out of the water, but instead rely on powerful currents on the ocean floor, flowing in one direction on a flooding (high) tide, and in the opposite direction on an ebbing (low) tide.Īs with all tidal power plants, their supply is extremely reliable. These turbines are installed on structures anchored to the seabed. Propeller rather than damīut there is another way to convert tidal energy into electricity – based on a simple principle, strongly reminiscent of wind power: the ocean current drives a propeller, connected to a generator.
Although other suitable sites do exist, they are few and far between, come with considerable price tags and can impact the local environment. Only six tidal power stations are currently in operation around the world. However, implementing this system economically is not that simple. Modern tidal power plants also harness the incoming tide to generate power. In the past, this involved the use of paddle wheels in mills today it is turbines that generate electricity. Most tactics have followed the same basic principle: the water is impounded at high tide, and then, at low tide, released through a system which harvests the energy. And yet the energy of the waves is nothing compared to that of the tides, and mankind has harnessed this energy for centuries. Anyone who has ever battled the waves at a beach knows only too well the unbridled power of the sea.
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