The Current and Future Uses of Tidal Power in North America - Essay Example

Other records documents that Tidal power originated from Europe and Atlantic coast of North American where tide mills were used to produce electricity. The flowing water was stored in massive ponds and the movement of tides turned the waterwheels, which utilized mechanical energy generated to for grain milling. The earliest tide mills occurred during the Middle ages and during the Roman times and in the 19th century, the process of utilizing running water and turbine spinning for electricity production was introduced in America and Europe, (Hardisty 52).

During this period, the tidal mills were primarily utilized to grand grains and had similar designs with the conventional water mills except the fact that they did not use reservoirs and dams. Similarly, the industrial revolution accelerated power demands and tidal energy could not meet the demand; therefore, the development of cheap fossil fuels and other power production means that provided access to generation of power replaced tidal power. Therefore, the existing Tidal mills and other pre-industrial water mills lost their value as power production means. . Secondly, tidal energy can be exploited through turbines sinking to the floor of the sea whereby fast-moving water currents turn blades of the generator as wind does to wind turbines.

Tidal power is renewable energy as the tides movement is on a predictable routine schedule based on the Sun, Moon, and Earth’s orbit and cannot be exhaustible. Even though, tidal power is free of carbon, it is not environmental secure because concerns over the shoreline health and aquatic environment ruins the clean power source – older technology of tidal barrage can destroy aquatic life populations. Traditionally, massive systems of barrage prevailed in the of tidal energy project. However, because of high evident unhealthy environmental and economic challenges with the tidal power technology, investigations into the tidal power field had a shift from systems of barrage to tidal turbines current in the recent years.

This modern technology has fewer environmental challenges than the tidal barrages because the turbines on the offshore water current cuts the necessity of building water reservoirs for capturing tides along environmental delicate coastlines. Although, harnessing tidally drive currents of the coastal waters cannot product as much power as the barrage style equipments, the technology still has some hope for the North Americans. This is because the technology is rapidly developing and growing with various test projects developing all over the world.

For instance, the technology is evolving in various nations such as Canada, France, Europe, and the entire United States. North America now owns and operates its own Annapolis tidal energy project that provides energy for various purposes. For instance, power from the tidal