5. Dikes

Most tidal energy will probably come from large basins of several hundred to several thousand km ² . The length of the dykes (excluding plants) can be from 10 to 100 km for a site, and in most cases these dykes will be exposed to high swells over a large part of their length. The dikes must also be able to withstand rapid load variations, but perfect watertightness is not necessary, as leakage of the order of 10 m ³ /s per km has little economic impact. Construction itself can be difficult, given frequent storms or medium swells.

For a few kilometers from the shore, embankment solutions similar to traditional breakwaters (cf. Le Havre Antifer) are conceivable, with waterproofing by means of diaphragm walls. However, this solution would require an inordinate amount of time for...