Overland Tidal Power Generation Using Modular Tidal Prism

Naturally occurring sites with sufficient kinetic energy suitable for tidal power generation with sustained currents > 1 to 2 m/s are relatively rare. Yet sites with greater than 3 to 4 m of tidal range are relatively common around the U.S. coastline. Tidal potential does exist along the shoreline but is mostly distributed, and requires an approach which allows trapping and collection to also be conducted in a distributed manner. In this paper we examine the feasibility of generating sustainable tidal power using multiple nearshore tidal energy collection units and present the Modular Tidal Prism (MTP) basin concept. The proposed approach utilizes available tidal potential by conversion into tidal kinetic energy through cyclic expansion and drainage from shallow modular manufactured overland tidal prisms. A preliminary design and configuration of the modular tidal prism basin including inlet channel configuration and basin dimensions was developed. The unique design was shown to sustain momentum in the penstocks during flooding as well as ebbing tidal cycles. The unstructured-grid finite volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) was used to subject the proposed design to a number of sensitivity tests and to optimize the size, shape and configuration of MTP basin for peak power generation capacity. The results show that an artificial modular basin with a reasonable footprint (approx. 300 acres) has the potential to generate 10 to 20 kw average energy through the operation of a small turbine located near the basin outlet. The potential of generating a total of 500 kw to 1 MW of power through a 20 to 40 MTP basin tidal power farms distributed along the coastline of Puget Sound, Washington, is explored.