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Venus Publications
Can this work in Singapore?Posted by venus on Tuesday November 11, 2008 10:21 amUSING current technology, Singapore cannot harness tidal energy because our mean tidal range of about 1.7m is too low. Mean tidal range is the difference in height between mean low water and mean high water levels during spring tides, which occur during new moon and full moon, when there is greatest variation in tides. The tidal range is low all around South-east Asia because of the configuration of the land - fairly straight coastlines which are surrounded by seas. In contrast, there are beaches in some countries elsewhere with a tidal range of more than 10m. For example, in the Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America, home to the world's highest tides, the tidal range has been measured in excess of 15m. These high tides produce swift-flowing currents when the tide is coming in and going out. In Singapore, because of the low tidal range, the tidal currents are not strong enough to generate electricity. It would be like trying to get power from water flowing through a monsoon drain. Professor Teh Tiong Sa, visiting senior fellow at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, said: 'To have viable energy from tides, the higher the tidal range the better. 'For Singapore, it's too low to even think about it now, unless technology changes and things become more efficient.'
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