The Technology Context – B101

Rance Tidal Power Plant , France - Bretagne

Tidal Power is a form of hydropower that exploits the movement of water caused by tidal currents or the rise and fall in sea levels due to the tides. Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity generation and is more predictable than wind energy and solar power.

La Rance Tidal Barrage is the only one large scale commercial tidal power station in the world. There are also two other barrages - one being the 20MW Annapolis station in Nova Scotia, and the other a small 0.5MW plant in Russia. As you can tell the 240MW barrage in France grants it being superior to its brothers.

Plan of enquiry
For my plan of enquiry I will be including:

• Sources
• Methods
• Analysis

Sources
For my topic I intend to gather information from both primary and secondary sources. For my primary source this would involve taking a more 'hands on' approach and involving myself as much as possible into the the company. This will be done by an email questionnaire where I intend to ask questions that give me more of an idea as to how beneficial the barrage is to the ecosystem, for example, how much energy are you producing, what is the cost of maintenance and so on. As For secondary sources , this would involve gathering information from either books, the internet and research papers. Below are some of the sources I will refer to :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power
http://www.reuk.co.uk/La-Rance-Tidal-Power-Plant.htm
http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02/RE_info/tidal1.htm

Methods
The method refers to the approach I will be taking towards conducting research. So for my method I will take a quantitive approach. A quantitive approach involves more of the numerical and statistical analysis as compared to a qualitative approach that would involve more policy and social analysis.

So why is Rance Tidal Barrage effective and advantageous to the ecosystem ?

• Once you've built it, tidal power is free.
• It produces no greenhouse gases or other waste.
• It needs no fuel.
• It produces electricity reliably.
• Not expensive to maintain.
• Tides are predictable.

Currently, it generates 240MW of power and has been in operation for over 40 years without mechanical breakdown. Being the only tidal barrage in the world to be commercial, I find this to be a good way of showing the beneficial factors that it plays in being an eco-friendly producer of power.

Electricity production, millions KW/h 1 - in the pumping mode 2 - in the turbine mode


Comparison of Rance Tidal Barrage

As stated earlier , La Rance is known to be the only commercial Tidal Barrage in existence, so therefore comparing it to another barrage would be impossible. I shall, therefore, compare it to a different source of power - 'Wind' Power.

Greenpark - Reading , Berkshire
For my comparison I have chosen to focus on the company called Ecotricity . This company has many windmills built all across the Country and I have chosen one of the nearest to me in Reading, Greenpark. Greenpark was completed in November 2005 and was erected alongside the M4 motorway. This turbine is very visible with some 60 million motorists passing it each year.

The Green Park turbine supplies 100% green energy straight into the local grid, to the benefit of over 1,000 homes and businesses in the area. The 85m turbine soars above the M4 motorway as a truly impressive icon for a sustainable future. Equally impressive is the fact that the turbine will generate 3.5 million units of electricity a year.

As I have visited this turbine at least twice since it has been erected, I must say that it is a very impressive structure which can be seen from miles away. For me just its presence has a great impact on my thoughts towards wind power and generally speaking other means of power in an eco-friendly way.

In conclusion to my comparison, I feel that I have enough evidence to suggest that both wind power and tidal power offer renewable energy in an eco-friendly way. Tidal energy is renewable because the tides will continue to flow, and the energy is there constantly. Wind energy is also renewable, however it can be said that this type of energy could be less reliable as there is always the possibility of insufficient wind in a day.

Although not yet implemented widely in the UK it is said that tidal resources have the potential to supply at least 10% of our electricity. Some of the main key advantages that the UK would certainly find if tidal farms were implemented, is that Tidal turbines would provide energy in a predictable and reliable manner. As these resources are there to use, and are renewable, I feel it is important to adapt to a more economically friendly environment and start planning for the world to be completely reliant upon renewable energy sources. Doing this could dramatically decrease pollution emissions and global warming and, of course, ultimately renewable energy sources are crucial to sustainable human life on planet Earth.