Breakthrough Energy Source is 10X Better Than Wind & Solar!?

this video is sponsored by the ecoflow Delta Pro  one of the biggest challenges renewable energy   faces is a little problem called intermittency  the Sun and wind can provide nearly endless   supplies of clean power but they don't always  show up exactly when you need them what if there   was a clean renewable energy source that was as  predictable as say the tides tidal energy systems   have been around for a while but we haven't seen  them take off the way other renewable systems have   while experts project the tidal energy alone  could power every house in the United States   two times over current title projects worldwide  only Power about half a million homes but with new   projects in Europe Asia and Canada taken off are  we about to see a new wave of clean renewable and   affordable energy let's dive in if Tides have one  excellent quality it's that they are incredibly I   mean incredibly predictable humans have been able  to predict Tides with relative accuracy for over 2   000 years unless you're Bill O'Reilly Todd goes  in tide goes out never miscommunication you can't   explain that tides are also incredibly powerful  which is why they hold so much potential to   better understand why here's a brief refresher  on how tides work tidal energy comes from the   gravitational force of the Moon and to a lesser  extent the sun see any two bodies out in space   exert a gravitational force on the other the  equation looks like this G is the gravitational   constant M1 and M2 are the masses of the two  bodies and finally we have R the radius or   distance between the two bodies squared in the  denominator this change in the force of gravity   over distance is what we call the tidal Force this  means that if two bodies are twice as far apart   the gravitational force felt between them is only  25 percent as strong this is why even though the   sun is way more massive the moon which is closer  to us exerts a larger tidal Force so how does   the tidal Force cause our ocean tides well the  strength of gravity to depends on the distance   as the Earth has a radius of 3958 miles or 6371  kilometers the side of the earth facing the moon   gets pulled harder than the other essentially  stretching the Earth especially our oceans so   this explains the Bulge on the side closest to the  moon but what about the other side well since the   center of the earth is closer to the Moon than  the far side it's also getting pulled harder   again resulting in a bulge basically the parts of  the earth facing and opposite the moon experience   the strongest tidal forces and the sides in the  middle the weakest coastal areas experience high   and low tides every six hours or so as the Earth  spins resulting in two high tides and two low   tides every day this results in ocean water levels  Rising about one to two meters in areas of high   tide The Sun Also contributes to Tides here on  Earth when the Sun and Moon are aligned when we   see a newer full moon their forces align and we  see super high and super low tides called spring   tides when the Sun and Moon are 90 degrees apart  the tidal forces cancel out a bit and we have neap   tides finally the moon's orbit isn't perfectly  round so it's closer to us at certain points than   others not by much but when the moon is closer  in its orbit and aligns with the sun we have the   highest Tides possible called proxygeon Tides but  what makes this title Force so promising is that   it's essentially an enormous wave of energy moving  across the planet every single day without fail   capturing tidal energy works a lot like capturing  wind energy basically taking wind turbines and   placing them under the sea water is far more dense  than air over 800 times to be exact that means   that even with relatively slow current speeds  the turbines can still Spin and produce quite   a bit of electricity tidal energy systems fall  into one of two major categories the oldest and   most common systems are tidal range systems making  up about 98 of all tidal energy projects worldwide   these systems use a large Dam or range across a  coastline with enormous floodgates at either side   between the floodgates below sea level since the  row of enormous turbines as a tide rolls in The   Barrage gates open as the water flows through the  turbines connected to generators rotate converting   their Ocean's mechanical energy into electricity  once the tide reaches its highest point the   barrage gates close creating a large pool of  water this water can then be released slowly   back into the ocean through turbines to create  power on demand in principle these systems are   very similar to Pumped hydro which we've covered  in previous videos but unlike these systems which   require electric pumps to push the water back  uphill these systems rely on the planet's natural   tidal energy to pump water in and out because the  turbines work at both directions they can provide   clean reliable energy between 18 and 22 hours  per day need power just opened the floodgates   the oldest tidal range generator laurent's  built in northern France in 1966 produces enough   electricity to power the town's 250 000 homes and  businesses the second type of tidal energy system   is called title stream essentially underwater wind  farms they've been around since the 1970s large   turbines connected to generators sit anchored  to the sea floor but the turbines themselves   are closer to the surface this makes them a bit  more cost effective since they reduce undersea   construction floating stream turbines were among  the most powerful in the world with individual   turn capacities of two megawatts scotland-based  Energy company meijen is developing a 398 megawatt   title stream project the largest in the world the  initial phase involves four 1.5 megawatt turbines   connected to onshore power conversion units  where the low voltage Supply will be converted   for export to local distribution networks  this initial phase will generate sufficient   electricity to power 20 3600 homes as we mentioned  earlier since water is more dense than wind these   turbines can produce the same amount of power as a  similar sized wind turbine but with current speeds   one-tenth the required wind speed as speeds as  low as one meter per second these turbines can   equal the output of a typical wind turbine as  current speeds increase between two and three   meters per second the turbines can access up to  four times as much energy per rotor swept area as   are similarly rated wind turbine if tidal energy  is sounding pretty good right about now yeah it's   quite the win-win much like our sponsor this week  the ecoflow Delta Pro did you know that since we   installed the ecoflow smart home panel and got  two Delta Pros our entire business has been 100   off grid running on Sunshine and batteries  I even charged my Tesla about 25 miles a day   covering my usage all from the Sun for Amazon  Prime day ecoflow has some pretty sweet deals   like 500 off this Delta Pro I've had mine for  about a year and I love it get two of them on   a smart home panel and you can power your house  or just roll around found wherever you need it or   take it camping with 3 600 watts of that but you  can power nearly anything and with 3.6 kilowatt   hours of storage that expands all the way up to  10.8 you can do so for hours but the real magic   is when you add solar panels but 1600 watts of  input get some panels like I did and charge your   batteries back up every day these Prime Day deals  are likely to be the biggest discounts ecoflow   has all year so definitely check out the links  in the description huge thanks to ecoflow and   you for supporting the show a title range with  24 turbines has an installed capacity of 240   megawatts or around 10 megawatts per turbine  with an annual output of around 600 gigawatt   hours per year that's enough power to sustain  over 50 000 American Homes about the number   of homes in my small town how does it stack up  to other Renewables most onshore wind turbines   have a capacity of between two to three megawatts  producing roughly six gigawatt hours annually a   modern day offshore turbine comes a bit closer to  roughly eight megawatts and the new record-setting   Simmons gamessa offshore turbines coming online  in 2024 produced 14.7 megawatts in the case of   solar panels they generally have output ratings  roughly around 400 watts to produce the same   power as those 24 tidal turbines you would need  between 80 and 120 onshore wind turbines and 50   to 30 offshore turbines or around 60 000 solar  panels but what about efficiency today's typical   solar panels as we've covered on this show many  times top out around 22 percent efficiency and   wind turbines often heralded as the most efficient  renewable max out around 40 percent tidal turbines   yeah they absolutely dunk on the others operating  around 80 percent efficiency nearly double that   of wind at this point in the video we like to  ask if this technology is so great why don't we   see it everywhere and indeed there are a couple  of things to consider first tidal energy plants   don't currently have have the major production  infrastructure that other energy sources benefit   from that means tidal energy systems are by  far the most expensive to build requiring the   highest Capital costs up front the reason for the  cost is simple as we've been saying sea water is   more dense than air and while this helps tidal  turbines produce more power it also means they   need to be made for more sturdy materials not to  mention the extra corrosive element of salt water   there's also the issue of what's called biofouling  basically as the machines live underwater they're   prone to build up a variety of sea life which is  great for the ocean but can hinder the turbines   performance so Engineers have to factor that in  when constructing and maintaining this technology   and then there's also the issue of impact on  marine life these tidal turbines can be moving   pretty quickly especially for how big they are  and what kind of impact can they have on whales   and fish and sharks and other species that would  probably take a little more research to figure out   but that's something I think that people do have  to consider when it comes to tidal energy some say   that between these costs and other considerations  title energy plants are financially unviable but   what does the data say according to the 2019  figures from the U.S department of energy the   average commercial tidal energy project costs  as much as 280 dollars per megawatt hour to   build wind energy by comparison currently costs  roughly twenty dollars per megawatt hour making   it one of the most lowest cost energy sources  available today but when it comes to energy you   can't just look at the base cost instead you  need to look at what's known as levelized cost   an economic measure that compares the lifetime  cost of generating electricity across various   Technologies in other words it's not just about  how much something cost up front but how much   power can produce over its lifetime and how  much maintenance it would require over that   same period levelized cost is an important factor  for consumers because it's one of the metrics by   which the price of electricity is based now there  are countless metrics to determine levelized cost   but here are some averages based on numbers from  the eia as you can see depending on the technology   Prices range between thirty dollars per megawatt  hour to about 170 per megawatt hour right now the   lcoe for commercial scale tidal energy projects  Falls between 130 to 280 dollars per megawatt   hour for tidal energy which could certainly put  it above the competition but when you factor in   longevity for these facilities things start to  look a little bit different modern coal-fired   plants have an operating lifespan of more than 35  years yet environmental groups suggest that coal   needs to be entirely phased out by 2040. wind  turbines and solar panels generally come with   a warranty of 20 to 25 years and while some solar  cells have reached the 40-year mark they typically   degrade at a pace of 0.5 percent efficiency per  year tidal energy systems are inherently age   resistant and have significantly longer life spans  the average estimate for most tidal systems is 75   to a hundred years and significant cost reductions  in lcoe are anticipated from the current stage of   deployment to the commercial Target of 61 percent  for tidal energy by 2030 it's possible that the   base case scenario for tidal energy systems could  come down as low as 75 dollars per megawatt hour   but even at current prices tidal energy systems  are able to deliver power at prices equal to or   less than other energy sources here are some  current electricity rate averages for various   production methods in the US generation costs  for nuclear fall between 25 and 30 cents per   code hour fossil fuel costs come in between 5 and  17 cents per kilowatt hour hydroelectric power is   currently the cheapest form of renewable energy  costing just five cents per kilowatt hour wind   power which depending on the region competes with  hydroelectric and comes between two cents and six   cents per kilowatt hour making wind power the  cheapest depending on where it's installed solar   power comes in at six cents per kilowatt hour and  electricity from natural gas plants roughly 6.5   cents per kilowatt hour though as we covered in  the geothermal video lots of these factories can   impact the price of natural gas now let's look  at tidal energy estimated tidal energy you from   Canada's Nova Scotia title Generating Station  comes in at the most expensive around 66 cents   per kilowatt hour compared to Offshore wind in the  same region which comes in around 20 to 30 cents   per clone hour so not looking great but laurent's  has produced electricity at a range from 4 to 12   cents since its Inception now we're getting  somewhere and it's been operating since 1966.   the siwa title power station in South Korea built  in 2011 is the largest tidal range installation   in the world with an installed capacity of 254  megawatts It produced electricity at 2 cents per   kilowatt hour which puts it among the cheapest  of all energy sources so sure the impact title   energy could have on your electricity bill depends  on a number of factors but to rule it out entirely   saying it's always the most expensive option  clearly isn't true and of course the numbers   don't tell the whole story because tidal energy  produces electricity with zero carbon emissions   obviously natural gas and fossil fuels can't make  that claim despite sometimes being cheaper and   while other Renewables may be able to produce  energy at a lower price point again there's the   issue of intermittency and an increased need for  energy storage because if the wind and Sun aren't   needed when it's shining or blowing you got  to start somewhere otherwise that energy isn't   really all that useful and the energy storage  part of the equation is just a problem that   tidal energy doesn't face so not only is title  a pure zero carbon form of renewable energy but   because it's a little more predictable it requires  less energy storage as well and that's a price you   can't really factor in without adding the cost  of batteries to wind and solar but cost isn't   the only Factor limiting the technology there are  also the issues of location location title systems   require coastlines which already limit where they  can be built but not every coastline is optimal   see tidal range systems benefit when the range  sits around seven meters any less and the system   becomes less economically feasible the problem is  that many of the areas with optimal conditions are   more remote locations where grid infrastructure  may not already exist which means larger upfront   investment and potentially impacting local  environmental regions still despite these   drawbacks a number of countries have already begun  to adopt tidal energy and more projects are on the   horizon as they continue to prove themselves out  more and more as a economically viable option we   may start seeing more of these systems popping  up along our coastlines so just like any form of   intergeneration tidal energy systems will become  more economically practical when we build them at   scale if you're only building a couple of these  plants yeah it's going to be more expensive but   as more companies come online producing the parts  and the blades and other components these prices   will come down but there's also the issue of being  housed in the ocean how much maintenance will that   take how much more quickly will blades or other  Hardware degrade as a result of the corrosive   salt water these are the kinds of questions that  only time will tell but the good news there is we   do have some of these older ranged plants like  the one in France that have been around for a   long time so I think it's pretty optimistic that  these things can last but what do you think our   title Energy Systems destined to become the next  big wave of Renewables or should we invest in   other currently proven Renewables sound off in the  comments below alright so that is a look at tidal   energy there's some pretty awesome projects  on the horizon that I'm pretty excited about   so thank you for watching I'm Ricky YouTube  Da Vinci and we'll catch you guys next week

Channel: Two Bit da Vinci

Views: 749,099

Keywords: two bit da vinci, wave energy, tidal energy, tidal power, renewable energy, ocean energy, sustainable energy, tidal energy explained, tidal power pros and cons, clean energy, tidal energy plant, wave energy generator, wave power plant, tidal turbines, tidal range, tidal stream, Tidal Energy Can Power the World - Why Doesn't It, tide energy technologies, tidal energy project, eco wave power, tidal power plant, Breakthrough Energy Source is 10X Better Than Wind & Solar

Id: qii8nhCFI4M

Length: 16min 24sec (984 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 07 2022