Tides are an Earth Force.
I had this thought back around 2000. When thinking about the things that are powerful in this world that we could tap to get energy ... there is sunlight, wind power, rivers flowing downstream ... but there are also powerful tides that come in and out every day. But tides big enough to turn into energy are only in certain areas.
What is Tidal Energy? A tidal energy system harnesses the vertical movement of water between high and low tides using kinetic energy derived from the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. The tidal energy systems that I'm interested in are lagoons, which is a construction of circular or semi-circular structure that form a partial enclosure in the ocean (i.e., a lagoon). These can be installed along the natural coastline and/or use estuaries with fresh water emptying into them.
That's kind of like using the power of gravity from the moon.
In some places where the tide can rise and fall 10 ft or more and you could wall off a small Bay, then you basically have a small dam, about the size that would dam a river. I did some research on how high the ocean water along the coastline of SoCal, and they don't usually even rise and fall 1 foot.
When the tide comes in open the gates and it fills this swimming pool reservoir of water. Then as the tide goes out you open and it acts just like a dam that will generate electricity. As the water level goes down, lower the gate so that it will keep an even flow of water. I haven't done any calculations on how much energy can be created with this type of flow. Remember this is just a thought experiment, brainstorming. I imagine that it would work somewhere in the world where the tide rises and falls extremely.
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After researching, I see there already is a tidal lagoon being constructed. The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon in Wales is a well-known example of a tidal lagoon, a type of power station that generates electricity from the tides.
The lagoon is designed to take advantage of the bay's extreme tidal range, which can reach eight to ten meters. The project involves building a breakwater that's about 10 kilometers long and 50 to 100 meters wide across part of the bay, creating a lagoon that's enclosed by the breakwater and coastline. The lagoon will feature a horseshoe-shaped seawall with turbines embedded in it that capture the kinetic energy of the tides as they flow in and out of the bay. The turbines are expected to generate 320 megawatts of electricity, which could provide clean energy for more than 155,000 homes in the region.
A tidal lagoon generates electricity twice in one tide – once when the tide is coming in, and once when it’s going out.
The tide flows in and out in a predictable pattern, so the energy it generates is reliable.
Port Royal Sound, Sc. for instance has an average tide height of about 8 feet, while in the Florida Keys only a foot or so.
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