If you trust the forecasts of scientists, according to which non-renewable energy resources will be exhausted in the coming decades, then the search for other types of energy should be started now. If the calculations are correct, then we will have enough oil for 45-50 years, gas for 70-80 years, uranium for 100, coal, possibly for 400 years. Alternative forms of energy will become necessary for civilized humanity, like air. But taking into account the catastrophic pollution of industrial waste from the entire planet as a whole, preference should be given to "clean" energy: solar radiation, wind energy, geothermal energy, energy of watercourses, tides, waves, dissipated thermal energy of water and air. These sources are renewable and environmentally friendly.
By the way, the economic potential of these sources is two times higher than the annual production of all existing fossil fuels. If you build wind and tidal power plants, learn how to collect the energy that the Sun gives us, then you can satisfy the demands for energy consumption almost all over the world.
Tidal power plants are able to convert tidal energy into electricity . The first such power plant was launched in Russia in Kamchatka (Pauzhetskaya). Its power is 5 MW.
For the construction of such a power plant, a swimming pool is required (a blocked riverbed or a dam bay). The dam must have culverts with installed hydraulic turbines that rotate the generator.
A hydraulic turbine is a scapular machine rotated by a stream of liquid (water). Turbines can be free-jet (active) and pressure-jet (jet); by design - horizontal and vertical. Power can vary from tens to hundreds of MW.
How do tidal power plants work ? With the onset of the tide, water enters the pool. When comparing the water levels in the basin and in the sea, the closures of the culverts are closed. The ebb is approaching and, accordingly, there is a decrease in the sea level. As soon as the water pressure becomes sufficient, power generators with turbines are turned on until the pool water level drops.
It is economically feasible to build tidal power plants where tidal fluctuations of four meters or more. Design capacity of tidal power plants depends on the nature of the tide in the areas of construction of power plants, on the volumes and areas of tidal pools, on the number of installed turbines.
Double-acting tidal power plants operate, as the name implies, upon receipt of water from the sea and back. In other words, they are capable of delivering electricity from 4 to 5 hours, then a short break occurs (an hour or two), and the power plant is turned back on. Turbine hours can be increased by upgrading the simplest tidal power plants (for example, by increasing the number of pools). However, the implementation of such projects will result in a huge amount.
With all the positive aspects, such power plants still have disadvantages. Firstly, they can only be built on the shores of the oceans and seas. Secondly, they work intermittently. Thirdly, they do not allow to develop high power. And finally, they are not entirely environmentally safe, since they interfere with the normal exchange of fresh water and salt, thereby affecting the fauna.
One of the most economical and environmentally friendly power plants today is a wind power station, or wind power. Only wind is needed for her work. Already developed options with different capacities and, accordingly, with different prices (from 900 cu to 23 500 cu). Some are enough to provide electricity to one private house, others can be used by large commercial and domestic industries, factories, recreation centers, multi-story hotels.