4 ms·

I've often thought why not dam a whole estuary or bay and use hydro to collect the energy on the the fall and rise of the tide. I know the environmental impact

I've often thought why not dam a whole estuary or bay and use hydro to collect the energy on the the fall and rise of the tide. I know the environmental impact wouldake it unpalatable but are there any reasons it wouldn't work?

flipbrad 3y ago
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-power-feasibility-study-conclusions-and-summary-report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-po...
- hardlianotion 3y ago
  That Severn project has on-again, off-again cycles that are typical of so many UK infrastructure projects. It's a little depressing.
lelag 3y ago
It's been done. Biggest one is Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station[1] and France had a 240MW tidal plant since the 60s [2]. This type of project has been few and far between and I would guess they might be very costly to build and maintain compared to the harvested energy. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sihwa_Lake_Tidal_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sihwa_Lake_Tidal_Power_Station [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station
- macNchz 3y ago
  This is interesting–it made me wonder if this had ever been considered on NYC's East River, which is a tidal estuary with strong currents. Turns out there's been a company working on it for a while, with free-moving turbines rather than something that spans the whole thing: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/articles/tidal-testing-underway-new-yorks-east-river https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/articles/tidal-testing-und...
KeplerBoy 3y ago
Meet project Atlantropa, a proposed plan to dam the Mediterranean (or more accurately the atlantic ocean) at the strait of Gibraltar. A project so absurd and gigantic it would deserve its own thread really. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa
- bagels 3y ago
  Meanwhile, Egypt wants to expand the mediterranian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression_Project
  - KeplerBoy 3y ago
    That's interesting,I have never heard of it before. It seems outright feasible and sensible in comparison.
himinlomax 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station 240 MW, built in 1966.
theropost 3y ago
Where I'm from they have some of the highest tides in the entire world and there's an area not far from here that has always been sort of a local talking candidate for such a huge project. https://earthsciencesociety.com/2014/05/01/a-tidal-power-lagoon-in-nova-scotias-scotts-bay/ https://earthsciencesociety.com/2014/05/01/a-tidal-power-lag...

flipbrad 3y ago

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-power-feasibility-study-conclusions-and-summary-report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/1-severn-tidal-po...

hardlianotion 3y ago
That Severn project has on-again, off-again cycles that are typical of so many UK infrastructure projects. It's a little depressing.

lelag 3y ago

It's been done. Biggest one is Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station[1] and France had a 240MW tidal plant since the 60s [2]. This type of project has been few and far between and I would guess they might be very costly to build and maintain compared to the harvested energy. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sihwa_Lake_Tidal_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sihwa_Lake_Tidal_Power_Station [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station

macNchz 3y ago
This is interesting–it made me wonder if this had ever been considered on NYC's East River, which is a tidal estuary with strong currents. Turns out there's been a company working on it for a while, with free-moving turbines rather than something that spans the whole thing: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/articles/tidal-testing-underway-new-yorks-east-river https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/articles/tidal-testing-und...

KeplerBoy 3y ago

Meet project Atlantropa, a proposed plan to dam the Mediterranean (or more accurately the atlantic ocean) at the strait of Gibraltar. A project so absurd and gigantic it would deserve its own thread really. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa

bagels 3y ago
Meanwhile, Egypt wants to expand the mediterranian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression_Project
- KeplerBoy 3y ago
  That's interesting,I have never heard of it before. It seems outright feasible and sensible in comparison.

himinlomax 3y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rance_Tidal_Power_Station 240 MW, built in 1966.

theropost 3y ago

Where I'm from they have some of the highest tides in the entire world and there's an area not far from here that has always been sort of a local talking candidate for such a huge project. https://earthsciencesociety.com/2014/05/01/a-tidal-power-lagoon-in-nova-scotias-scotts-bay/ https://earthsciencesociety.com/2014/05/01/a-tidal-power-lag...