Tidal energy is a type of renewable energy that, as its name suggests, takes advantage of the difference in sea level caused by the tides to obtain energy. However, it is a type of renewable energy that is still very little developed due to its low production and its difficulty in obtaining energy in a profitable way.
However, thanks to a project financed with funds from the European Union, FLOTEC has managed to manufacture a turbine for obtaining energy from the tides with a performance very similar to that of offshore wind turbines. This is a record in the history of renewable energies and, above all, good news for the clean energy generation of the future.
Development of an efficient turbine
The turbine developed by FLOTEC (Floating Tidal Energy Commercialization) it has been able to generate more than 18MWh (megawatt hours) in a XNUMX-hour uninterrupted test period. This achievement means that tidal energy can gain a foothold in the international renewable energy markets since it is almost as efficient as an offshore wind turbine.
The energy generated from the tides can be obtained in a similar way to that done with offshore wind farms, but with turbines submerged in water. In this way, thanks to the higher density of water compared to the wind, it is possible to take advantage of the movement of water generated by the tides.
Tidal energy has great energy potential if it is developed and investigated more thoroughly. However, so far, its potential has hardly evolved compared to other renewable energy sectors such as solar and wind. This is due in large part to the fact that the marine environment requires energy production facilities to have more durable equipment, resistant to corrosion produced by salt, not having impacts on marine fauna and flora, and resistant to extreme weather events, etc. That's why, that the improvement of technologies in tidal energy is more expensive and difficult than the rest.
The Tidal Power Improvement Project
This project was financed with European FLOTEC funds that were created to improve and use the power generation potential that the oceans can have. Both tidal energy, wave energy and offshore wind are types of renewable energies that can help in improving ecosystems, can help in the fight against climate change, create new jobs and develop a lot the technology of the renewable.
The project also tries to demonstrate that the improvement in tidal energy technology can help reduce costs and risks, improve the reliability of the energy supply and introduce this type of energy in a commercial framework to include it in the electricity grid of All Europe.
The tidal turbine that has been developed, which is almost as efficient as a marine turbine, It is designed to last more than 20 years and can be anchored to almost any type of seabed, as long as it is about 25 meters deep. In April of this year, the SR2000 turbine managed to generate two MW of maximum power. However, the project team has been working to improve efficiency and has managed to generate 18MWh. In order to improve the performance of the turbine, they increased the diameter of the rotor from 16 to 20 meters. This caused a 50% increase in power generation. The program test is running at the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland (UK), where the proprietary technology was connected to Orkney's power grid to export power in stages.
The project also investigates an increase in energy and hydrodynamic efficiency in order to lower costs and maintenance. As you can see, this is a milestone in the history of tidal energy, which will make a gap in competitiveness with the rest of renewable energies each time.
There is enough clean energy to more than cover the needs of "man", what we lack is the "machine", which is capable of collecting and concentrating it efficiently and profitably.