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2. Tidal power plants typically erect a dam across the entrance to
a tidal basin. When the tide starts to come in, as the sea level
rises, the increase in tidal power is held behind the dam. As the
water is released through the dam and into the basin it will
power turbines that create electrical power through generators.

3. How much does it cost to run a tidal power station?
These power stations are extremely expensive to build. However,
once a station has started running the cost for keeping it going is
fairly low. The Rance Power State in France works at 1.5c/Kwh; this is
lower than either nuclear or coal energy, which are the cheapest
forms of power.

4. Does salt water damage the turbines?
The salt water will cause corrosion in the metal parts of a turbine. It
can also be difficult to fix these systems because of their size and
the fact that we are under water. But it has been found that with
scheduled maintenance, these units can remain functioning
properly for long periods of time. Tidal power stations can have a
life of 100 years.

5. The tides are based on the moon's
rotation and are predictable

6. Tidal power or tidal energy is the form of hydropower
that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful
forms of power, mainly electricity. Although not yet
widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future
electricity generation. Tides are more predictable than
the wind and the sun.

7. Several tidal power barrages operate around the world.
The Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station in South Korea has
the largest electricity generation capacity at 254
megawatts (MW). The oldest and second-largest
operating tidal power plant is in La Rance, France, with
240 MW of electricity generation capacity. The next
largest tidal power plant is in Annapolis Royal in Nova
Scotia, Canada, with 20 MW of electricity generation
capacity. China, Russia, and South Korea all have smaller
tidal power plants.

8. Compared to tidal currents,
ocean currents are
unidirectional and generally
slower but more continuous.
Ocean current technologies are
in an early developmental stage,
and no full-scale prototype has
been tested or demonstrated
yet.

9. Tidal range power generation is dominated by two large
plants in operation, the ‘La Rance’ barrage in France and
the ‘Sihwa dam’ in South Korea. The construction costs
for ‘La Rance’ were around USD 340 per kilowatt (/kW)
(2012 value; commissioned in 1966), whilst the Sihwa
barrage was constructed for USD 117/kW in 2011. The
latter used an existing dam for the construction of the
power generation technology

10. The development of this technology is taking place in Canada,
China, France, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Spain, UK, and the
USA

12. Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Canada
Power generation station

13. Sihwa Power Plant

14. This planned power plant in Wales may look
like the Guggenheim Museum