Abstract
In the recent decades, many efforts have been made by the coastal scientists and engineers for the explosion of tidal stream energy in China, as tidal stream energy is considered as one of most promising resources of marine renewable energy. Meanwhile, tidal stream energy is easy for predication and its utilization has less harm to the environment. The tidal stream energy in China could theoretically supply more than 8.2 GW, and most of them come from Zhoushan Islands, Zhejiang Province. The government of China largely invests the explosion of tidal stream energy in these years, and a significant progress has been achieved in this area. Tidal stream turbines are especially designed to improve the utilization efficiency of tidal stream energy with low impact on marine environment, and some demonstration projects of tidal stream energy are currently under plan along the coast. This study is to provide a comprehensive overview of tidal stream energy in China, including the potential assessment of energy resource, development history (achievement and difficulties) of tidal stream turbines, progress and challenges of the undergoing demonstration project, and future plan and suggestions for developing tidal stream farm in China.