1. Context

Hydroelectricity produces 3,500 TWh/year worldwide. Tidal energy has an equivalent potential, but produces only 1 TWh/year. This difference is difficult to explain, as tidal energy has some major advantages:

• the available energy is concentrated, and we can produce 10 to 40 GWh/year/km ² of reservoir, whereas hydroelectricity produces 3,500 TWh/year on over 350,000 km ² of reservoirs, i.e. less than 10 GWh/year/km ² . The cost per MWh of creating large tidal reservoirs is lower than the average cost of dam reservoirs;

• we can use hydroelectric turbines, or tidal turbines, with a manufacturing cost per kW close to that of onshore wind turbines;

• ...