Following are the reason for the need to harness non-conventional sources of energy.
(a) Conventional sources are exhaustible source of energy and they will get exhausted in the near future.
(b) Non-conventional source of energy did not lead to environmental pollution. Energy can be harnessed from the sea in following ways
Tidal energy
- Tidal energy is harnessed by constructing a dam across a narrow opening to the sea.
- A turbine fixed at the opening of the dam converts tidal energy to electricity.
- As you can guess, the locations where such dams can be built are limited.
Wave energy
- The kinetic energy possessed by huge waves near the seashore can be trapped in a similar manner to generate electricity.
- The waves are generated by strong winds blowing across the sea.
- Wave energy would be a viable proposition only where waves are very strong.
Ocean Thermal Energy
- The water at the surface of the sea or ocean is heated by the Sun while the water in deeper sections is relatively cold.
- This difference in temperature is exploited to obtain energy in ocean-thermal energy conversion plants.