Tidal schemes around the world
• La Rance, near Mont Saint-Michel in Brittany, northern France, was the world’s first tidal power plant and remains the largest. 24 turbines each rated at 10MW generate 600 million kWh annually 6, providing the equivalent power for 250,000 homes 6. La Rance was completed in 1967.
The barrage is 750 metres long and 13 metres high with a reservoir of 22km square. New turbines were designed to enable energy production on the flood and ebb tides 6.
Attracting 300-400,000 tourists every year, La Rance is a large contributor to tourism in Brittany and an important destination for industrial tourists in France generally. It is also a significant attraction for water sports enthusiasts, keen to take advantage of the sheltered conditions 6.
In the first 30 years of commission, La Rance tidal power plant operated without any major breakdown and generated 16 billion kWh 6.
• In 1984 a study barrage in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, was completed with an installed capacity of 20MW. Other study projects have been carried out including Kislogubsk, Russia, plus 7 operation plant in China with a combined output of 11MW 7. There are scant publications available on any of these projects that are widely available.
Numerous other feasibility studies have been executed worldwide ranging from an installed capacity of 33MW in Conwy, UK, to the vast 87,400MW in Penzhinsk, Russia 7. Despite this, La Rance remains the only large power plant utilising tidal energy.