How Does Tidal Power Work?

Tidal power is a type of energy source that uses renewable materials. Renewable means that the natural resources is always there or takes a short amount of time to replace. Tidal power uses water! Tidal power is when the ocean tide powers a generator to generate electricity. Tide is the rise and fall of water levels in the ocean along the coastlines. Tide on Earth happens because the moon pulls on the water with it’s gravity. People realized that they could harness the rise and fall of the tides to generate electricity. Today, we use turbines in the ocean near coastlines to generate the electricity. When the tide rises and falls, the currents spin the turbine and make electricity. Tidal power is efficient and reliable because it produces lots of electricity compared to other renewable resources and is also predictable because we know so much about the tidal system. This is how tidal power works!