Sluice gates on the barrage control water levels and flow rates to allow the tidal basin to fill on the incoming high tides and to empty through an electricity turbine system on the outgoing ebb tide. The barrage is installed across an inlet of an ocean bay or lagoon that forms a tidal basin. One type of tidal energy system uses a structure similar to a dam called a barrage. Two places in the United States with potential for tidal power are the Cook Inlet of Alaska, which has the second-highest tidal range in North America, and several places in Maine. The United States does not have any commercially operating tidal energy power plants, although several demonstrations projects are in various stages of development. Producing tidal energy economically requires a tidal range of at least 10 feet. Today, there are tidal energy systems that generate electricity. People in Europe harnessed this movement of water to operate grain mills more than a 1,000 years ago. In some places, tides cause water levels near the shore to rise and fall up to 40 feet. The gravitational pull of the moon and sun along with the rotation of the earth create tides in the oceans.
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