Nestled on the west coast of South Korea, in the heart of Gyeonggi Province, stands the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station, a testament to human ingenuity and a beacon of sustainable energy, proudly holding the title of the world’s largest tidal power installation.

The Tidal Power Plant Facility:

The Sihwa Tidal Power Plant, a feat of human engineering. This massive installation was revolutionary. Spanning 12.7 km or nearly 8 miles, it serves as the world’s largest tidal power plant. But it does much more than act as a placeholder in world records. For the South Korean people, it annually generates a massive 550 GWh of energy and is slowly rejuvenating the great lake, Lake Sihwa.

Design:

So how does this 560-million-dollar installation do it? The colossal tidal barrage harnesses the power of the tides. The seawall, built in 1994 for flood control and agricultural needs, divides the Yellow Sea from Lake Sihwa and so, at high tides, there is a height difference in the body of waters between the lake and the sea. This increased change in potential energy drives the water through turbines when a flood gate is opened, allowing flow and electricity generation. It operates ten 25.4 MW submerged bulb turbines in an unpumped flood generation scheme. This means power is produced only during tidal inflows, while the outflow is simply sluiced away, resulting in one-way power generation. This somewhat unconventional and less efficient method was selected to accommodate a variety of factors, including existing land use, water use, conservation, environmental concerns, and power generation.

The station operates with an average tidal range of 5.6 m (18 ft), and a spring tidal range of 7.8 m (26 ft). The working basin area, initially planned to be 43 km2 (17 sq mi), has been reduced to 30 km2 (12 sq mi) due to land reclamation and freshwater dykes, and it is expected to shrink further.

A brief History:

In 1997, a disaster was on Seoul's hands. The lake they banked off to reclaim land for agricultural purposes was useless due to high concentration of pollutants present in the water. So the government needed to act and so the Sihwa Tidal Power Plant was proposed. Not only would it produce immense amounts of energy, but it also allowed for freshwater to flow back into the lake which was the primary reason it was so polluted. Construction began in 2004 and finished in 2011. It became operational in 2012 and since then the plant has been producing power for the local city and slowly but surely improving the conditions of the lake. Further dive into the history of this plant can be found on the history page. 

Location

The location of the Sihwa Tidal Barrage Power Plant can be seen below. It is located in South Korea in the Gyeonggi Province off the coast of the Sihwa Lake. Under 50km from the captial, Seoul.

Country: South Korea 

Location: Sihwa Lake, Gyeonggi Province, Ansan City

Coordinates: 37°18′47″N 126°36′46″E