Fact #173
Earth & tides
The tidal barrages at La Rance in France and Sihwa Lake in South Korea generate a few hundred megawatts each, taking their energy directly out of the Earth's rotation.
La Rance opened in 1966 and has been running ever since; Sihwa took over as the largest in 2011. Unlike wind or sun, the output is known years in advance, because the Moon is. The energy is ultimately stolen from Earth's spin, so a tidal power station lengthens the day — by an utterly negligible amount, but not by zero.
Source: International Energy Agency, Ocean Energy Systems · checked Sep 2026