tidal power station

Hydroelectric power plant that uses the ‘head’ of water created by the rise and fall of the ocean tides to spin the water turbines. The world's first commercial-scale tidal power station is located on the estuary of the River Rance in the Gulf of St Malo, Brittany, France, and has been in use since 1966. It produces 240 megawatts and can generate electricity on both the ebb and flow of the tide.

In 2003 the world's first commercial subsea power station became operational in Norway. The power station produces 300 kW of electricity using only the rise and fall of the sea to generate electricity, by means of a device called a tidal mill. This installation was the first power station using tidal power to be connected to a commercial electricity grid; it supplied enough electricity to power 30 houses in the nearby town of Hammerfest.