The Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station in South Korea has the largest electricity generation capacity at 254 megawatts (MW). Several tidal power barrages operate around the world. They can also affect navigation and recreation. Tidal barrages can change the tidal level in the basin and increase turbidity (the amount of matter in suspension in the water). A two-way tidal power system generates electricity from both the incoming and outgoing tides.Ī potential disadvantage of tidal power is the effect a tidal station can have on plants and animals in estuaries of the tidal basin. Sluice gates on the barrage control water levels and flow rates to allow the tidal basin to fill on the incoming high tides and to empty through an electricity turbine system on the outgoing ebb tide. The barrage is installed across an inlet of an ocean bay or lagoon that forms a tidal basin. One type of tidal energy system uses a structure similar to a dam called a barrage. Two places in the United States with potential for tidal power are the Cook Inlet of Alaska, which has the second-highest tidal range in North America, and several places in Maine. The United States does not have any commercially operating tidal energy power plants, although several demonstrations projects are in various stages of development. Producing tidal energy economically requires a tidal range of at least 10 feet. Today, there are tidal energy systems that generate electricity. People in Europe harnessed this movement of water to operate grain mills more than a 1,000 years ago. In some places, tides cause water levels near the shore to rise and fall up to 40 feet. In these areas the continents are not pressed closely together, there is not a “constriction” of the oceans, and the tidal ranges are not increased.The gravitational pull of the moon and sun along with the rotation of the earth create tides in the oceans. In the higher latitudes of the southern hemisphere, in the southern tips of South America, southern Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, tidal ranges are not increased. This “constriction” of the oceans creates the effect of a higher range of tides. In the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere, the continents of North America, Europe, and Asia are pressed closer together. ![]() Increased tidal ranges in these areas are created by the positions and configurations of the continents in the northern hemisphere. That many of the areas of the world with high ranges of tides are in the areas of Alaska, Canada, and northern Europe has created a misconception that the range of tide increases with increasing latitude (as one moves farther from the equator and closer to the poles). Detailed forecasts are available for high and low tides in all sea ports, but are specific to local conditions. Storm systems at sea and on land also shift large quantities of water around and affect the tides. The shape and geometry of a coastline play a major role, as do the locations of the Sun and Moon. ![]() Tidal highs and lows depend on a lot of different factors. The highest tides in the United States can be found near Anchorage, Alaska, with tidal ranges that average around 30 feet. The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia.
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