Energy

Hydroelectric

Energy from the sea

Sea current and tide energy

The energy produced from tide is one of the most interesting and least exploited among renewable sources. In Europe alone the availability of this energy amounts to 75 GW (75 million kilowatts). As everybody knows, as well as energy it is very important to estimate the amount of energy that can be exploited: in Europe exploitable energy accounts for 50 TW (50 billion kW/h). The turbines for the exploitation of sea currents can be (like for wind energy) horizontal or vertical axis. The horizontal axis turbines are more suitable for constant sea currents, like in the Mediterranean, while vertical-axis turbines are more suitable for tidal currents since they change direction, of approximately 180 degrees, several times during the day.