Eco Factor: Tidal energy generating systems to provide electricity to the UK.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool, working along with Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, have claimed that building huge barrages in the North West could possible generate enough energy to power 5% of UK homes. The researchers are planning to install renewable energy generating systems across Solway Firth, Morecambe Bay and the Mersey and Dee estuaries, which will be able to generate approximately half of the North West region’s electricity needs.
The plan is to build barrages that can collect and guide water through turbines as the tide comes, the same system will release water back into the sea once the tide is gone and the result would be clean electricity waiting to be used. With the climatic conditions available at the area, the researchers expect that the turbines would be able to function for 11 hours a day, generating enough electricity to run 5% of UK homes and saving a huge amount of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.
The Dark Side:
Tidal energy systems, though efficient and clean, do cost much more than what they actually save.
Via: ScienceDaily
