Tidal Energy – Clean Energy vs Environmental Concerns
Tidal energy has the potential to be a major clean energy platform for coastal areas. On the other hand, there are definite environmental concerns that must be considered.
The environmental movement has found itself in a rather tenuous position these last few years. After spending decades of pushing alternative energy platforms, they’ve finally found success. Governments across the world have grown tired of relying on fossil fuels form foreign countries and are listening to voters who want green solutions. The end result is the explosion of solar, wind, and other clean energy projects.
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While this should be a glorious time for environmentalist, it is actually a time of some obvious discomfort. Why is this? Well, we are seeing environmental groups squaring off against each other over clean energy projects. This is due to the fact that every energy project, no matter how clean, has some environmental impact. Tidal energy is no exception.
Tidal energy is a very new alternative energy concept. While we’ve long known about the energy inherent in tides, nobody has really given much thought on how to capture it. With rising fuel prices, that is starting to change. Tidal energy is being looked at as a potential major energy source for coastal communities where the vast majority of humans live around the world.
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Tidal projects are creating a catch-22 in the environmental community. On the positive side, they produce clean energy reliably given the clockwork like precision of tides coming in and out each day. There is a downside, however. Current tidal technology is much like that found in a hydropower dam. The water is squeezed into a compact shoot and run past a set of blades that turn a turbine. This has a big impact on fish as you might imagine and can also do major damage to the coast as water tends to back up behind the turbines. There are plans for far less intrusive devices to catch the power, but none are ready for use at the moment.
So, what to do? Well, the end result depends on the community in question. The UK has a number of areas that are ripe for tidal energy platforms. So far, none have been developed because of cost and environmental concerns. Perhaps this will change as technology advances and becomes less intrusive. Regardless, it does point out the inherent competing interests that can arise on what seems like a perfectly clean energy concept.
