Hydroelectric
Power - Introduction to hydroelectric power and other energy derived
from water
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ENERGY FROM THE SEA
As an island nation, the UK is surrounded by the sea and should harness it's power.
Wind blows waves continually against our shoreline and these could be a powerful source of energy.
The tide comes in and out every day and this could also be used.
WAVE POWER
Wave power stations are rare because it is not easy to convert the energy produced by the motion of the waves
into electricity.
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It can be achieved and different methods have proved successful.
One method uses a wave turbine where the incoming waves make the water in a
chamber rise and fall and this forces air in and out of a hole at the top of a chamber.
This air movement is used to turn a turbine which turns a generator.
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A commercial wave power station called Limpet operates on the Scottish island of Islay.
CLICK HERE for more information on how Limpet works
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Another commercial wave power station is being developed called Pelamis. It uses a long, hinged, floating
tube which bobs up and down in the water. As the waves move the pipe, the hinges bend and they pump
hydraulic fluid through turbines which is used to generate electricity.
CLICK HERE for more information about Pelamis
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After initial construction costs, wave power is free, it needs no fuel and produces no waste or greenhouse gases.
It is not expensive to maintain and can produce a large amount of energy.
Wave power is not reliable because nobody can predict how strong or frequent the waves will be.
A suitable site must be obtained where the waves can be relied upon to be consistantly strong.
Some wave turbines are very noisy but so are the waves so this should not be a problem.
Wave turbines must be very durable and be able to withstand rough weather
TIDE POWER
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The tide moves a large volume of water each day and if we could harness this succesfully we could produce up to 20% of our energy needs.
Tide energy is very reliable and numerous sites around the UK coastline have been identified as potential sites for power stations.
However, converting tide energy into electrical energy is difficult and there is only one tidal power station operating in Europe.
It was built in 1966 at St Malo in Northern France.
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A tidal power station usually consists of a tidal barrage.
This is similar to a dam built across the mouth of a river estuary.
As the tide comes in and out the water flows through tunnels in the barrage
and this is used to turn turbines.
Large gates are usually built into the barrages to allow ships to pass.
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A major problem with tide power is that energy can only be generated when the tide is flowing in or out. This is approximately
ten hours each day but as it is totally preditable plans can be made to have other energy sources available when the tidal power
station is not in operation.
After construction, tide power is free, it needs no fuel and produces no waste or greenhouse gases.
It is reliable and not expensive to maintain
A barrage across an estuary is very expensive to build and affects a very wide area. The environment nearby is dramatically changed
with problems for local wildlife. e.g. birds can't feed and fish can't migrate
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