Survey of Energy Resources 2007 Harnessing the Energy in the
Tides There are two fundamentally different approaches to the
exploitation of tidal energy. The first is to exploit the cyclic
rise and fall of the sea level through entrainment and the
second is to harness local tidal currents in a manner somewhat
analogous to wind power. Tidal Barrage Methods There are many
places in the world in which local geography results in
particularly large tidal ranges. Sites of particular interest
include the Bay of Fundy in Canada, which has a mean tidal range
of 10 m, the Severn Estuary between England and Wales, with a
mean tidal range of 8 m and Northern France with a mean range of
7 m. A tidal-barrage power plant has indeed been operating at La
Rance in Brittany since 1966 (Banal and Bichon, 1981). This
plant, which is capable of generating 240 MW, incorporates a
road crossing of the estuary. It has recently undergone a major
ten-year refurbishment programme. Other operational barrage
sites are at Annapolis Royal in