Singapore rides energy wave
Singapore is testing a cutting-edge renewable energy source that could help reduce its reliance on fossil fuel: tidal energy. Unlike other tidal turbines that harness power from fast-moving currents, Singapore wants to generate electricity from slow-moving waves, Eco-Business.com reports.
The Sentosa Development Corporation, which oversees development of Singapore’s Sentosa Island, where the facility is located, and Nanyang Technological University, a major public university in Singapore, partnered on a tidal energy generator that will double as a test bed for ongoing research.
Tidal power is considered more reliable than wind and solar because the ocean’s currents are cyclical, the article notes. Industrial wind turbines are not an option for the tiny island nation in Southeast Asia, according to Singapore’s energy regulatory agency, because average wind speeds are too slow.