Topic summary
Tidal energy
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Tidal power.
Cost
Tidal energy has a high initial cost, which may be one of the reasons why it is not a popular source of renewable energy, although research has shown that the public is willing to pay for and support research and development of tidal energy devices. The methods of generating electricity from tidal energy are relatively new technology. Tidal energy is however still very early in the research process and it may be possible to reduce costs in future. The cost-effectiveness varies according to the site of the tidal generators. One indication of cost-effectiveness is the Gibrat ratio, which is the length of the barrage in metres divided by the annual energy production in kilowatt hours.