Wave and Tidal Power

➡️ Wave and Tidal Power – Clean Energy from our Oceans

Wave and tidal power are renewable energy sources that harness the kinetic energy of the seas and oceans. The significant advantage of these power sources is that they can provide a reliable and consistent supply of energy that solar and wind cannot. They are the most powerful but least developed renewable energies.

Experts claim that harnessing even just 1% of global wave power could power over 50 million homes! With half the world's population within 100 km of a coastline, the potential for wave and tidal power is enormous.

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Is Wave Power the Future?

Wave power captures the energy of surface waves from the oceans to generate electricity. They have a minimal visual and environmental impact. While technologies are still not quite ready to be installed commercially, the first wave energy farms are set to be built in the UK, Portugal, Spain, and Italy in the next few years.

Several different wave energy technologies exist -

• Point Absorbers - Floating buoys that absorb energy through the movement of the waves at the water's surface.

• Oscillating Wave Surge Converters - Mounted on the seabed in shallow water, they harness wave energy with an oscillating flap.

• Oscillating Water Columns - Partially submerged, hollow structures which are connected to a turbine above through a chamber. As the waves rise and fall, the air in the chamber is pushed back and forth, generating power.

The World Energy Council predicts that the commercialisation of wave energy could produce twice the electricity the world currently produces.

Tidal Power as a Rising Player

In areas where there is a large tidal range, the natural rise and fall of ocean tides can be harnessed to generate turbines and paddles, converting this energy into electricity. Tidal power is most effective where tidal channels and waterways become smaller and tidal currents become stronger.

Tidal energy production is still very much in its infancy. The first commercial-sized tidal power plant was in La Rance, France. The largest facility is the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station in South Korea. Very few commercial-sized plants are operating in the world, but there is huge potential for development in China, France, England, Canada, and Russia.

The main types of tidal energy technologies are -

• Tidal stream turbines capture energy from the current. These streams are naturally occurring fast-flowing bodies of water created by tides. The turbines are large and can cause disruption to the tide they are attempting to harness.

• Tidal barrages are artificial dams built across tidal rivers, bays, and estuaries to form a tidal basin. Turbines inside the barrage capture the energy from both the incoming and outgoing tides. They operate in the same way as a river dam.

• Tidal Lagoons are similar to barrages, but they can be constructed along the natural coastline, which is much less damaging to the environment. Although theoretically they could be an excellent way to capture tidal energy, there are no current examples in operation.

   

Key Challenges for the Wave and Tidal Energy Industries

Capturing the oceans' power to produce clean, renewable, sustainable energy remains underutilised and underinvested. Water is hundreds of times denser than air, making it much more powerful than wind. The challenge is making it commercially feasible to capture and convert it into usable power at scale.

New technologies that significantly lower installation and maintenance costs, reduce environmental effects, and increase the suitability of more locations are needed. Cost is by far the biggest barrier. Even after these technologies have been developed, we must then connect them to the power grid, which, depending on the location, requires extensive and costly engineering and manufacturing work.

Currently, no one in the wave or tidal power industry has emerged as a market leader. Until this happens, a lack of supply chain will prevent installation and maintenance costs from falling.

Other issues include the relatively unknown effects on the environment. Tidal energy requires massive underwater structures, which may alter underwater conditions and water quality, negatively impacting marine life and its habitats. There is also the potential for collisions with rotating turbines and disruption to marine animal navigation and communication.

The industry must prioritise developing devices that endure ocean forces and minimise environmental damage. With sufficient investment, wave and tidal power could contribute significantly to sustainable power generation, especially for coastal communities and countries with long shorelines.

In 2018, the MeyGen in Scotland was the first tidal energy project to become operational. Its first four turbines generated 35 gigawatt-hours of power to the grid in its first two years. In 2023, construction began on the world's largest wave power plant. Located in Ordu, Türkiye, the project will have a huge capacity of 77mW, the project cost is $150 million and is backed by Israel's Eco Wave Power.

With greater collaboration, policy support, increased efficiency, falling costs, and improved grid integration, experts predict wave and tidal energy will become much more competitive options in the renewable energy market. With well-suited marine environments, the Pacific Northwest, parts of Europe, and Australia in particular, will be central to the development of these technologies.

With careful environmental consideration, wave and tidal power can become an integral part of the renewable energy landscape, helping to reduce carbon emissions and promote energy security worldwide.

Author: Rachael Mellor, 13.02.25 licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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