TIDAL ENERGY.

Evening Star, Issue 14533, 8 December 1910, Page 2

TIDAL ENERGY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir.—Lord Falmereton was once requested to inspect some new invention. After doing so, ho asked : "Of what use. would it be?" The reply came: "You will soon be able to tax it, my Lord," or, in other words, the inventor was certain of the commercial practicability of his scheme. One often hears of the use of tidal energy for commercial and local purposes, hot we hardly realise how much water is required to obtain one horsepower when the fall amounts to only a few feet, as with ourselves. With a tidal rise and fall of 10ft we should require a (low of nearly two tons of water per minute to generate, one horse-power with a good modern turbine. Now, tidal motion is verv irregular, consequently we may not always have a full head to use for tho one horse-power, hence we should have to continually increase tho quantity of water. How could we store, such a large quantity of tidal wa.U>r? The speed of the turbine would vary towards inefficiency. If we should ever use tidal energy for commercial requirements, the Bay of Firmly would be the place, because there is there a rise and fall of some 50fL We know very little about the tide 6. Why is there a rise-ami fall of 20ft, say, at the Paeiiic entrance to tho Panama Canal, and one of about 3ft only at the Atlantic entrance? One rejoices at the local interest taken in tidal energy.—l am, etc., r-M. December 7.