this video is sponsored by the ecoflow Delta Pro one of the biggest challenges renewable energy
faces is a little problem called intermittency the Sun and wind can provide nearly endless
supplies of clean power but they don't always show up exactly when you need them what if there
was a clean renewable energy source that was as predictable as say the tides tidal energy systems
have been around for a while but we haven't seen them take off the way other renewable systems have
while experts project the tidal energy alone could power every house in the United States
two times over current title projects worldwide only Power about half a million homes but with new
projects in Europe Asia and Canada taken off are we about to see a new wave of clean renewable and
affordable energy let's dive in if Tides have one excellent quality it's that they are incredibly I
mean incredibly predictable humans have been able to predict Tides with relative accuracy for over 2
000 years unless you're Bill O'Reilly Todd goes in tide goes out never miscommunication you can't
explain that tides are also incredibly powerful which is why they hold so much potential to
better understand why here's a brief refresher on how tides work tidal energy comes from the
gravitational force of the Moon and to a lesser extent the sun see any two bodies out in space
exert a gravitational force on the other the equation looks like this G is the gravitational
constant M1 and M2 are the masses of the two bodies and finally we have R the radius or
distance between the two bodies squared in the denominator this change in the force of gravity
over distance is what we call the tidal Force this means that if two bodies are twice as far apart
the gravitational force felt between them is only 25 percent as strong this is why even though the
sun is way more massive the moon which is closer to us exerts a larger tidal Force so how does
the tidal Force cause our ocean tides well the strength of gravity to depends on the distance
as the Earth has a radius of 3958 miles or 6371 kilometers the side of the earth facing the moon
gets pulled harder than the other essentially stretching the Earth especially our oceans so
this explains the Bulge on the side closest to the moon but what about the other side well since the
center of the earth is closer to the Moon than the far side it's also getting pulled harder
again resulting in a bulge basically the parts of the earth facing and opposite the moon experience
the strongest tidal forces and the sides in the middle the weakest coastal areas experience high
and low tides every six hours or so as the Earth spins resulting in two high tides and two low
tides every day this results in ocean water levels Rising about one to two meters in areas of high
tide The Sun Also contributes to Tides here on Earth when the Sun and Moon are aligned when we
see a newer full moon their forces align and we see super high and super low tides called spring
tides when the Sun and Moon are 90 degrees apart the tidal forces cancel out a bit and we have neap
tides finally the moon's orbit isn't perfectly round so it's closer to us at certain points than
others not by much but when the moon is closer in its orbit and aligns with the sun we have the
highest Tides possible called proxygeon Tides but what makes this title Force so promising is that
it's essentially an enormous wave of energy moving across the planet every single day without fail
capturing tidal energy works a lot like capturing wind energy basically taking wind turbines and
placing them under the sea water is far more dense than air over 800 times to be exact that means
that even with relatively slow current speeds the turbines can still Spin and produce quite
a bit of electricity tidal energy systems fall into one of two major categories the oldest and
most common systems are tidal range systems making up about 98 of all tidal energy projects worldwide
these systems use a large Dam or range across a coastline with enormous floodgates at either side
between the floodgates below sea level since the row of enormous turbines as a tide rolls in The
Barrage gates open as the water flows through the turbines connected to generators rotate converting
their Ocean's mechanical energy into electricity once the tide reaches its highest point the
barrage gates close creating a large pool of water this water can then be released slowly
back into the ocean through turbines to create power on demand in principle these systems are
very similar to Pumped hydro which we've covered in previous videos but unlike these systems which
require electric pumps to push the water back uphill these systems rely on the planet's natural
tidal energy to pump water in and out because the turbines work at both directions they can provide
clean reliable energy between 18 and 22 hours per day need power just opened the floodgates
the oldest tidal range generator laurent's built in northern France in 1966 produces enough
electricity to power the town's 250 000 homes and businesses the second type of tidal energy system
is called title stream essentially underwater wind farms they've been around since the 1970s large
turbines connected to generators sit anchored to the sea floor but the turbines themselves
are closer to the surface this makes them a bit more cost effective since they reduce undersea
construction floating stream turbines were among the most powerful in the world with individual
turn capacities of two megawatts scotland-based Energy company meijen is developing a 398 megawatt
title stream project the largest in the world the initial phase involves four 1.5 megawatt turbines
connected to onshore power conversion units where the low voltage Supply will be converted
for export to local distribution networks this initial phase will generate sufficient
electricity to power 20 3600 homes as we mentioned earlier since water is more dense than wind these
turbines can produce the same amount of power as a similar sized wind turbine but with current speeds
one-tenth the required wind speed as speeds as low as one meter per second these turbines can
equal the output of a typical wind turbine as current speeds increase between two and three
meters per second the turbines can access up to four times as much energy per rotor swept area as
are similarly rated wind turbine if tidal energy is sounding pretty good right about now yeah it's
quite the win-win much like our sponsor this week the ecoflow Delta Pro did you know that since we
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has all year so definitely check out the links in the description huge thanks to ecoflow and
you for supporting the show a title range with 24 turbines has an installed capacity of 240
megawatts or around 10 megawatts per turbine with an annual output of around 600 gigawatt
hours per year that's enough power to sustain over 50 000 American Homes about the number
of homes in my small town how does it stack up to other Renewables most onshore wind turbines
have a capacity of between two to three megawatts producing roughly six gigawatt hours annually a
modern day offshore turbine comes a bit closer to roughly eight megawatts and the new record-setting
Simmons gamessa offshore turbines coming online in 2024 produced 14.7 megawatts in the case of
solar panels they generally have output ratings roughly around 400 watts to produce the same
power as those 24 tidal turbines you would need between 80 and 120 onshore wind turbines and 50
to 30 offshore turbines or around 60 000 solar panels but what about efficiency today's typical
solar panels as we've covered on this show many times top out around 22 percent efficiency and
wind turbines often heralded as the most efficient renewable max out around 40 percent tidal turbines
yeah they absolutely dunk on the others operating around 80 percent efficiency nearly double that
of wind at this point in the video we like to ask if this technology is so great why don't we
see it everywhere and indeed there are a couple of things to consider first tidal energy plants
don't currently have have the major production infrastructure that other energy sources benefit
from that means tidal energy systems are by far the most expensive to build requiring the
highest Capital costs up front the reason for the cost is simple as we've been saying sea water is
more dense than air and while this helps tidal turbines produce more power it also means they
need to be made for more sturdy materials not to mention the extra corrosive element of salt water
there's also the issue of what's called biofouling basically as the machines live underwater they're
prone to build up a variety of sea life which is great for the ocean but can hinder the turbines
performance so Engineers have to factor that in when constructing and maintaining this technology
and then there's also the issue of impact on marine life these tidal turbines can be moving
pretty quickly especially for how big they are and what kind of impact can they have on whales
and fish and sharks and other species that would probably take a little more research to figure out
but that's something I think that people do have to consider when it comes to tidal energy some say
that between these costs and other considerations title energy plants are financially unviable but
what does the data say according to the 2019 figures from the U.S department of energy the
average commercial tidal energy project costs as much as 280 dollars per megawatt hour to
build wind energy by comparison currently costs roughly twenty dollars per megawatt hour making
it one of the most lowest cost energy sources available today but when it comes to energy you
can't just look at the base cost instead you need to look at what's known as levelized cost
an economic measure that compares the lifetime cost of generating electricity across various
Technologies in other words it's not just about how much something cost up front but how much
power can produce over its lifetime and how much maintenance it would require over that
same period levelized cost is an important factor for consumers because it's one of the metrics by
which the price of electricity is based now there are countless metrics to determine levelized cost
but here are some averages based on numbers from the eia as you can see depending on the technology
Prices range between thirty dollars per megawatt hour to about 170 per megawatt hour right now the
lcoe for commercial scale tidal energy projects Falls between 130 to 280 dollars per megawatt
hour for tidal energy which could certainly put it above the competition but when you factor in
longevity for these facilities things start to look a little bit different modern coal-fired
plants have an operating lifespan of more than 35 years yet environmental groups suggest that coal
needs to be entirely phased out by 2040. wind turbines and solar panels generally come with
a warranty of 20 to 25 years and while some solar cells have reached the 40-year mark they typically
degrade at a pace of 0.5 percent efficiency per year tidal energy systems are inherently age
resistant and have significantly longer life spans the average estimate for most tidal systems is 75
to a hundred years and significant cost reductions in lcoe are anticipated from the current stage of
deployment to the commercial Target of 61 percent for tidal energy by 2030 it's possible that the
base case scenario for tidal energy systems could come down as low as 75 dollars per megawatt hour
but even at current prices tidal energy systems are able to deliver power at prices equal to or
less than other energy sources here are some current electricity rate averages for various
production methods in the US generation costs for nuclear fall between 25 and 30 cents per
code hour fossil fuel costs come in between 5 and 17 cents per kilowatt hour hydroelectric power is
currently the cheapest form of renewable energy costing just five cents per kilowatt hour wind
power which depending on the region competes with hydroelectric and comes between two cents and six
cents per kilowatt hour making wind power the cheapest depending on where it's installed solar
power comes in at six cents per kilowatt hour and electricity from natural gas plants roughly 6.5
cents per kilowatt hour though as we covered in the geothermal video lots of these factories can
impact the price of natural gas now let's look at tidal energy estimated tidal energy you from
Canada's Nova Scotia title Generating Station comes in at the most expensive around 66 cents
per kilowatt hour compared to Offshore wind in the same region which comes in around 20 to 30 cents
per clone hour so not looking great but laurent's has produced electricity at a range from 4 to 12
cents since its Inception now we're getting somewhere and it's been operating since 1966.
the siwa title power station in South Korea built in 2011 is the largest tidal range installation
in the world with an installed capacity of 254 megawatts It produced electricity at 2 cents per
kilowatt hour which puts it among the cheapest of all energy sources so sure the impact title
energy could have on your electricity bill depends on a number of factors but to rule it out entirely
saying it's always the most expensive option clearly isn't true and of course the numbers
don't tell the whole story because tidal energy produces electricity with zero carbon emissions
obviously natural gas and fossil fuels can't make that claim despite sometimes being cheaper and
while other Renewables may be able to produce energy at a lower price point again there's the
issue of intermittency and an increased need for energy storage because if the wind and Sun aren't
needed when it's shining or blowing you got to start somewhere otherwise that energy isn't
really all that useful and the energy storage part of the equation is just a problem that
tidal energy doesn't face so not only is title a pure zero carbon form of renewable energy but
because it's a little more predictable it requires less energy storage as well and that's a price you
can't really factor in without adding the cost of batteries to wind and solar but cost isn't
the only Factor limiting the technology there are also the issues of location location title systems
require coastlines which already limit where they can be built but not every coastline is optimal
see tidal range systems benefit when the range sits around seven meters any less and the system
becomes less economically feasible the problem is that many of the areas with optimal conditions are
more remote locations where grid infrastructure may not already exist which means larger upfront
investment and potentially impacting local environmental regions still despite these
drawbacks a number of countries have already begun to adopt tidal energy and more projects are on the
horizon as they continue to prove themselves out more and more as a economically viable option we
may start seeing more of these systems popping up along our coastlines so just like any form of
intergeneration tidal energy systems will become more economically practical when we build them at
scale if you're only building a couple of these plants yeah it's going to be more expensive but
as more companies come online producing the parts and the blades and other components these prices
will come down but there's also the issue of being housed in the ocean how much maintenance will that
take how much more quickly will blades or other Hardware degrade as a result of the corrosive
salt water these are the kinds of questions that only time will tell but the good news there is we
do have some of these older ranged plants like the one in France that have been around for a
long time so I think it's pretty optimistic that these things can last but what do you think our
title Energy Systems destined to become the next big wave of Renewables or should we invest in
other currently proven Renewables sound off in the comments below alright so that is a look at tidal
energy there's some pretty awesome projects on the horizon that I'm pretty excited about
so thank you for watching I'm Ricky YouTube Da Vinci and we'll catch you guys next week