Q8Power Generation Sources
Question
Q.8. Give concept of tidal energy.
Answer
Tidal energy harnesses the potential energy of rising and falling ocean tides (caused by gravitational pull of the moon and sun) by trapping water in a basin at high tide and releasing it through turbines at low tide to generate electricity.
Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides — periodic rise and fall of sea level caused mainly by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser extent, the sun — into electricity. A barrage (dam) is built across a tidal estuary/bay; water is allowed to fill the basin during high tide and is then released through low-head hydraulic turbines during low tide (or vice-versa), driving generators. Tidal energy is highly predictable, unlike solar or wind, since tidal cycles follow known astronomical periods.