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One day Gilbert was 

swimming around with his 

friend Susan, looking 

for an adventure to go on.

They swam closer and closer, and Susan 

began to recognize what this odd looking 

thing was.

She excitedly told Gilbert that she 

thought this was a turbine, which 

generates tidal energy!

Gilbert didn't understand, but thought that 

these "turbines" seemed really interesting.

Susan said their school teacher told her about 

them, and that if Gilbert wanted to learn 

more, he should definitely ask Mr. Koi.

The next day, Gilbert told Mr. 

Koi what they had found, and 

that he wanted to learn more.

Glad that Gilbert was so interested, Mr. Koi 

told him that what he visited was a tidal 

stream. Seeing that Gilbert was still confused, 

he first explained what a tide was.

He said that it was how the level of water 

changes, based on the attraction between 

Earth and the moon, due to gravity.

"We can have a high tide, 

Or a low tide, 

And energy can come from 

changes in the tide, which are 

really predictable. This is how we 

get tidal energy!"

Gilbert now kind of understood, since he 

remembered that energy is what lets 

things happen. 

But then he started to wonder, "how do 

those turbine-things get energy when the 

tide changes?"

   ?

"Ahh," said Mr. Koi "Good question. You see, 

they are kind of like underwater windmills. 

Basically, as the tide goes in and out, the 

turbines start to spin.

The turbines then power a generator, 

which produces electricity that humans can 

use!"

Here's a 

really helpful 

diagram of 

how a tidal 

power plant 

works:

"Wow that's so cool!" exclaimed Gilbert.

"I agree. These turbines, while expensive, 

aren't that harmful to our environment, since 

the blades of the turbines don't have to move 

that fast. They also produce a constant stream 

of electricity." 

"However, there is another source of 

tidal energy that is definitely more 

harmful than a tidal stream, called a tidal 

barrage.

A barrage is a large dam, which is a 

barrier that's supposed to control the 

flow of water." 

There are also turbines inside these barrages, 

but the water that passes through them is 

now controlled by gates that open and close, 

which always have to be monitored. 

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