Mankind has been using the resources of the oceans since centuries. Humans have been eating fish meals as well as used the oceans for transport. But now the oceans can prove to be an unlimited source of energy in the form of tidal power. Using new advancements and technology man will be able to make the most of the tidal waves. In fact, our knowledge of tidal power goes back to thousand years.
For example, the Egyptians built dams about 5,000 years ago and we have been using tidal
energy to convert it into electricity. However we are not using tidal power to generate electricity on a large scale. Man’s pursuit of finding renewable sources of energy will make major leaps in tidal power being used in the producing electricity. The supply of tidal power is unlimited and hence man is very interested in using this resource.
According to a report passed by the HIS Emerging Energy Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there are 9 prototypes of tidal energy tested in the year 2009. They were slated for trail in the year 2010 by some of the experts who have vast experience in generating energy from the rivers and the waves. Tidal power is favorable than other renewable sources of power such as solar and wind. This is because its supply is steady and dependable unlike solar where you don’t get power during nights and wind, since the blowing of winds is undependable.
Studies suggest that there are 40 places on the planet where tidal exchanges are so high that they can generate tremendous amount of energy. One tidal exchange is located in the Pacific Northwest and the other is located in the Atlantic Northwest.
Then we have OTEC which is called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion. This is a new way of extracting energy from the ocean’s thermal layers. For example, Lockheed Martin Company has spent one million dollars to estimate how much energy can be generated from the ocean’s thermal layers. Engineers can extract energy by using the differences between the cold layers and the warm surfaces. This technique is used in countries such as Canada, Sweden, Bora Bora and Hawaii on a small scale. However the important thing now for scientists is to use this energy on a large scale commercially.
The newest concept is using bio fuel from algae. The algae process carbon dioxide into biomass which can then be used as fuel.