Tidal Energy – By Guest Blogger Anil – Continued

Continued from yesterday…..

Another drawback of tidal energy is the dependence on location for a successful project. As with most of other water based methods of energy generation, the location plays an essential role in harnessing the potential power source; site procurement costs gets high increasing the cost of the entire project.

Currently there are very few tidal power stations in the world. The largest and oldest is located in northern France at the La France river mouth estuary. The other sites suitable for the utilization of tidal power exist in many places around the world majorly in France, the United Kingdom, Former Soviet Union (now Russia), Canada, and the United States. Before setting up the plant, it is important to have a proper feasibility study.

The entire concept of tidal energy depends on tides, which means that energy can be generated only when there are tides in the water body. In other words, energy generation can be done for about 10 hours a day. Although, tides up to an extent are predictable, still the utilization of equipment may not be up to an optimum level and there could be times when tidal station may be out of action. The tides are not constant and occur in cycles. Tidal power is dependent on fetch distance, which is the distance the tide rises and falls. It is difficult to find suitable fetch distance and even if it is available, the project cost for setting up a plant with annual output of 3423 GWh may rise to as high as US$1.2 billion. In the US, many tidal areas only experience tides in the range of three feet between high and low tide. It means less potential energy.

Moreover, the tidal power energy sources generate power almost equal to one fiftieth of total power required world wide. Hence, they could never be used as main stream modes of energy generation, leave apart solving the energy crisis in major parts of the world. Undoubtedly, it can provide assistance but it is just not suitable for large scale electricity generation.

Also, the tidal energy sources are a constant threat to the natural ecosystem. The construction of power stations causes a disruption of nature’s processes and brings about unwanted changes to habitat and behavior of the flora and fauna near by. The tidal energy system reduces the tidal flow that can cause environmental impacts on tidal basins by decreasing the flow of the tides and even reducing the process of formation of slits. Scientists and geologists warn that the over use of this technology can slow down the tides, posing a great threat to the environment.

Putting the environmental issues aside as the capital markets have little consideration for the issues, the biggest problem with tidal energy generation is the high cost involved. As often witnessed in the markets, it’s not the most efficient or most environment friendly technology that wins, but the one which is the most cost effective. Tidal power is taking a beating on the cost front as of now. However, the companies involved in producing equipments and establishing tidal power plants are hopeful of bringing down the costs.

There aren’t a lot of listed options for investors in the tidal power space. Ocean Power Technologies Inc, one of the pure play quoted companies in the space has posted narrower losses in its latest quarterly results. Reacting to the results, the NASDAQ listed stock has appreciated around 11 percent in the last week. The company remains a leading service provider with multiple projects and provides substantial upside in stock movement if the costs are contained.

The research on tidal energy proves that there are several disadvantages to tidal power. Until and unless some techniques are developed to get rid of the issues and cost factors associated with it, the technology may not be as cost effective to make it a mainstream alternative energy source.