What is the power station built under the sea and how is it completed?

Everyone has heard of wind power generation and dam hydropower generation. Have you ever heard that power stations can be built under the sea? What exactly is a submarine power station? How does it work? Compared with other power generation methods, what is unique? Today we are going to talk about this power station located at the bottom of the sea.

There is a tidal test power station in Wenling, Zhejiang, China, which is the largest tidal power station in China. There are 6 bi-directional bulb tubular tidal generating units with a total installed capacity of 4 100 kW, which is second only to Shihua Lake tidal power station in Korea. France's Reims tidal power station and Canada's Annapolis tidal power station rank fourth in the world. So what exactly is tidal power generation? What does he have to do with the submarine power station we talked about today?

First, we need to know how tides are formed. We usually refer to the fluctuation of sea water during the day as tide and the fluctuation at night as sunseeker. Under the gravity of the moon, the water level of the earth on the moon and on the back of the moon rises, forming a climax. As the seawater flows to the high tide area, the seawater in some areas is relatively reduced, and the water level will drop, forming a low tide. Tidal power generation skillfully uses the gap formed by tides to promote the operation of water turbines and drive generators to generate electricity.

The common forms of tidal power generation are single-reservoir unidirectional, single-reservoir bidirectional and double-reservoir. There is only one reservoir in a single reservoir, and one-way hydro-generator sets are used to generate electricity. Due to the large amount of power generation at ebb tide, ebb tide power generation is generally the main method. When the tide rises, open the sluice flushing hose, and close the sluice when the water level of the reservoir is equal to the tide. When the tide ebbs, the drainage will be discharged from the reservoir and impact the turbine to generate electricity. Single-reservoir bi-directional unit is a bi-directional unit, which can generate electricity at high tide and low tide. This is how the Jiangxia Summer Tide Experimental Power Station generates electricity.

As for the dual-reservoir type, two reservoirs have been built, which are responsible for water inlet and water outlet respectively. The water level flowing into the reservoir is higher at high tide and lower at low tide. There is always a water level difference between the two reservoirs, which can generate electricity continuously. Tidal energy power generation looks the same as inland power generation using water level difference, but in fact it has many unique features. Because tidal power generation takes seawater as the medium, seawater corrosion, marine organism attachment and other issues should be considered in the construction process. This is not available in conventional hydropower stations. Tidal power station does not need to be a reservoir or a high dam, which will not only cause major problems such as flood, loss and migration, but also promote the development of surrounding industries.

Take Jiangxia tidal test power station as an example. According to China Energy News, after the completion of Jiangxia Power Station, 5,600 mu of farmland will be reclaimed, including 4,700 mu of cultivated land. The annual income of reclaiming land, planting rice, cotton or building orchards to grow citrus exceeds100000 yuan, and the annual output value of aquaculture in the reservoir area exceeds150000 yuan, which can be said to be a lot of benefits. Having said so much about tidal energy, are there other clean energy sources that can be used in the ocean besides tidal energy? Of course there is.

Wave energy and ocean temperature difference can also be used to generate electricity. Explain what wave energy is first. On the moving sea surface, waves fluctuate horizontally and vertically. There is both kinetic energy and potential energy, and wave power generation converts this energy into electrical energy through a power generation device. On June 30, 2020, Zhoushan, the largest single-wave power generation device in China, was officially delivered, with an installed capacity of 500 kilowatts and a power generation capacity of 500 kWh per hour when operating at full power.

Second, the ocean temperature difference power generation uses the huge temperature difference between the ocean surface and the deep layer to generate electricity. The ocean is a huge heat storage, which can absorb a lot of radiant solar energy, but solar radiation can't penetrate the seawater below 400 meters, so there is a huge temperature difference between the surface and the inside of the seawater. Tropical ocean seawater with a volume of 6 times 10 cubic kilometer absorbs 2.45 times 1 1 cubic barrel of crude oil every day. If one day we can make full use of this heat, it will provide great help for people to solve energy problems.

Generally speaking, using tidal energy, wave energy and ocean temperature difference to generate electricity can not only meet the energy demand, but also cause great damage to the ecological environment. Although the technical means are not mature enough and the cost is high, the future development prospect is undoubtedly very bright. What do you think of the energy contained in the ocean? Welcome to leave us a comment!