Tidal power

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 471.

Hydro-electric power

Water Power

The future

· to drill deeper and circulate water through the hot dry rock found 3-5 miles under the surface

· to identify deep geothermal aquifers

· to venture even deeper and try to utilise the hottest source of all - the molten and semi-molten magma of the Earth's core.

How it works:

· a reservoir is built with a dam in it, a mass of water is held back by the damp and then suddenly released all at once, sending the water through a turbine at great force.

Advantages:

· pollution free and safe when up and running

Disadvantages:

· creating it there can he tremendous disruption and upset to the environment, animals and nearby residents.

· finding sites large enough for this is quite hard.

How it works:

· by using the gravitational pull of the moon, which creates tidal rises and falls, to produce energy.

Advantages:

· using natural forces (no additional fuel sources are needed)

· in the long-term it could enable cheaper electricity.

· once up and running, quite safe to the environment

· a large-scale tidal power scheme on the River Ranee near St Maio in France helps produce a considerable amount of electricity; others in Russia, Canada and China have also been very productive and economical.

Disadvantages:

· tidal power generators can be quite expensive to set-up -- the costs involved in building such a scheme would be quite high initially

· the disruption to the area

· the risk of pollution to the river