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history of tidal power generation.
Tidal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy used by humans. indeed, tide mills in use on the Spanish, French and British costs data back to 787 A.D but it is likely that there were predecessors lost in the anonymity of prehistory.
Tidal mill consisted of a storage pond, filled by the incoming (flood) tide through a sluice and emptied during the outgoing (ebb) tide through a water wheel.
The tide turned water wheels producing mechanical power to mill grain and power two to three hours, usually twice a day. The power requirements of the industrialized world war and the out put of the early tidal barrages and it was not until the 1960 that the first commercial scale modern era. tidal power plant was built near St. Malo, France.
The hydro mechanical devices such as the paddle wheel and the overshot water wheel have given way to high efficiently. bulb-type hydroelectric turbine/generator sets. The tidal barrage at St. Malo uses twenty-four 10- megawatt low-head bulb type turbine generator sets. Installed in 1965 the barrage has been functioning with out missing a tidal for more that 37 year. After that more commercial scale tidal barrage was put in services in France, Canada and China.
