Resource World Magazine

d e c e m b e r / j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 55 Tidal power in Nova Scotia on the way by Bruce Lantz R esidents have long known of the power located within Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy – the highest and most powerful tides in the world. Now an inter- national project stands to unlock the energy behind those waves. The power is there. On a flood tide,160 billion tonnes of seawater flows into the bay – more than four times the combined flow of all the world's freshwater riv- ers during the same six-hour interval. And the tidal currents in Fundy are fast, exceeding 10 knots (18 km/hr) at peak surface speed. The California-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) identifies the bay as potentially the best site in North America for tidal power generation: a world-class resource near an existing electricity grid. In the Minas Passage alone, EPRI estimated a nearly 300 megawatt potential – equal to the force of a Class 4 hurricane and enough to power about 100,000 homes, 10% of the prov- ince's demand. Models indicate nearly 50,000 megawatts of energy exists in the entire Bay of Fundy. "We are excited about the potential in Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy – as an eco- nomic driver, as a way to build on our oceans experience, and of course as a way to generate clean, renewable energy for consumers in Canada and beyond," said Energy Minister Michel Samson. "Government has played a leadership role in the responsible development of our tidal resource, and will continue to remain actively involved. We look forward to see- ing the first array of tidal devices connect later this year to the power grid." The non-profit Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) is Canada's lead- ing test centre for in-stream tidal energy technology and is working with develop- ers, regulators and researchers to study the potential for tidal turbines to operate within the Bay of Fundy environment. FORCE provides a shared observation facil- ity, submarine cables, grid connection, and environmental monitoring at its test site for developers Cape sharp Tidal Power, atlantis resources Ltd., minas energy and Black rock Tidal Power. "Nova Scotia has quite a business case for tidal power," explained Matt Lumley, FORCE's director of communications. "The province has targets for the use of renew- ables and they've created a climate to stimulate renewable activity. The province has allocated 17.5 megawatts to the devel- opers under a feed-in tariff, which offers a fixed price for energy because, when the technology is new, lenders are shy." But is tidal power a better option than others such as hydroelectric, solar orgeo- thermal? "Each has advantages," said Lumley. "Because tide is predictable, it's a lot easier to plan and integrate into the power grid, both on a moment-by-moment basis as well as over a period of time." Each developer has been allocated 4-5 megawatts, which Lumley said will ensure power rates aren't affected more than 1-2% while developers are encouraged "to get their machines in the water". Questions remain, such as potential environmental impacts and the economies of the new technology. "The costs must come down so it's viable," Lumley said. "Right now, we're like wind (power) was 30 years ago." But, "the next few years at FORCE will show the world how much progress the tidal technology developers have made," said Aaron Long, director of business development for Minas Energy. "Tidal energy is a sector that must be developed if Nova Scotia is to replace the industrial activity lost over the past 20 years," he said. "We want to (help) this province develop new areas of economic development. We also have renewable energy project development capabilities to deploy, so it is a good fit from many perspectives." Dr. Sue Molloy, Black Rock's general manager, said the tidal power effort is a collaborative one, even though the devel- opers could be seen as competitors. "The beauty of this site is that we can overlap and collaborate. We all want to see success and this is all about helping demonstrate that it can be perfect." She said Black Rock expects to The Fundy Advanced Sensor Technology (FAST) platform, now in final testing and sea trials. The FAST platform is a recoverable instrument platform designed to monitor and characterize the FORCE site. Using a variety of onboard sensing equipment, the platform helps capture data from the Minas Passage, including currents and turbulence, marine life activity, noise levels and seabed stability. Photo courtesy FORCE (Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy). alTErNaTIvE e n e r G y

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