Canada uses the tides to generate electricity

The production of energy from sustainable energy sources is increasing steadily from year to year. No wonder that energy from the sun has now become the cheapest form of energy. But apart from solar systems, research is also being carried out on other means of generating energy. Canada now wants to take advantage of the tides.

Because ebb and flow could also contribute to our electricity mix in the near future. The new platform, named PLAT-I 6.40, has an output of 420 kilowatts and was launched in the Bay of Fundy earlier this week. This place is perfect as a test area, the highest tides on our planet are regularly observed here.

But how is PLAT-I 6.40 actually structured? There are six tidal turbines on a platform that send electricity to the coast via generators and an underwater cable. When the tide comes in, the kinetic energy “contained” is converted, the platform always remains in place because it is anchored in the seabed. In this way, up to 9 megawatts of additional energy should flow into the power grid.

If you convert that to current energy production, up to 17,000 tons of carbon dioxide could be saved per year. 3,000 households in Nova Scotia would have access to green electricity. No wonder, then, that the Canadian government is investing up to 18.5 million euros in the project.

Sustainable energy sources are currently making waves on the North American continent. For example, the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana is developing a special program to train dozens of solar professionals over the next decade. With the skills developed in this way, the expansion of renewable energies should gain speed.

Own opinion:

The current events around sustainable energy sources give hope. Never before has green electricity been so needed as it has been in these years, and at the same time production costs have fallen massively in recent decades. If we bring new technologies to market at this rate, we could even achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Investments should therefore also continue to flow in this country.

via electrek