Resource World Magazine

56 www.resourceworld.com d e c e m b e r / j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 be operational with one platform – holding a unique pivoting turbine easily serviced with small vessels like Zodiacs – in 2016 or early 2017 and a second in place by 2018. Cape Sharp is planning to keep the money local. "Right now we're in the first of four project phases," said community relations manager Sarah Dawson. "The two turbines we'll deploy in the coming months will provide energy to more than 1,000 customers. The plan in subsequent phases (with regulatory approval) is to increase output to as much as 300 MW of energy in 2020 and beyond. That's enough energy to meet the needs of nearly 75,000 customers. "By developing local expertise and businesses in the early phases we think there's huge potential to build a global industry and long-lasting economic oppor- tunities. Cape Sharp Tidal and its partners (OpenHydro, a DCNS company, and Emera) have committed to investing 70% of Phase I total project costs locally, so the turbines will be fully assembled, installed and maintained by Nova Scotians. As well, Phase I costs include manufactur- ing the project's deployment barge that OpenHydro will re-use for future phases down the road." Atlantis Resources will deploy the com- pany's state-of-the-art AR-1500 turbine at FORCE. The 1.5-megawatt tidal turbine is designed to facilitate operation in highly energetic tidal locations. It will be one of the largest single rotor turbines ever devel- oped and will have active rotor pitch and full nacelle yaw rotation. FORCE is now in sea trials for their underwater monitoring platform that is designed to provide site data in real time, which is critical for both turbine developers and environmental monitoring. "The Bay of Fundy is now wired for power," said Lumley. "All the infra- structure is in place – both onshore and offshore. We can deliver power to the grid when the next turbine connects to a sub- sea power cable." That could be in a matter of weeks. n Blue Fuel energy planning synthetic gasoline project by Bruce Lantz A n alternative gasoline project slated for an area near Chetwynd, BC could revolutionize the industry, its proponent says. The Sundance Fuels facility of privately-held Blue Fuel Energy, along with a methanol plant in the second stage, will be built on a 1,055-acre site 23 km east of Chetwynd, a region that features a con- vergence of natural gas and renewable energy such as hydro-electric and wind, which will be integrated in the production of Blue Fuel gasoline. Fired by the natural gas so abundant in the region, the process separates the hydrogen and oxygen atoms from a water molecule and then uses it – along with natural gas – to make a low- carbon synthetic gasoline. A methanol fuel-producing plant will be built nearby at a later stage. CEO Juergen Puetter says this world-scale project will bridge the current carbon-based economy with a future low- carbon economy. "We're sure this will be the most efficient and elegant plant of its kind in the world," he said, adding that one day 2015 may be regarded as the "beginning of the end" of the fossil fuel age, since some predict world consumption of fossil fuels will fall to zero by 2100. Powered by hydro-electricity and nearby wind turbines, the plant will have a capacity of over 16,000 bpd, which translates into about 2.5 million litres of low-carbon gasoline per day – equivalent to about 20% of BC's annual gasoline consumption or 1.4% of what's consumed daily in California. In the past, natural gas was considered too expensive, but lower prices and an abundant supply that ensures prices will stay relatively low make it feasible now, said Puetter. And he main- tains it can be done competitively, without subsidies. Though virtually all gasoline marketed today is made from petroleum and is thus non-renewable, gasoline can be made from non-fossil, renewable feedstocks. Blue Fuel gasoline will be indistinguishable from conventional gasoline and will have two advantages: being derived from renewable, low-carbon methanol it will be devoid of sulfur and thus be cleaner burning; and it will have about a third of the carbon. Renewable gasoline can be seamlessly blended with fossil- based gasoline and stored and distributed with no modifications to existing infrastructure. And as it is low-carbon, blending it into the gasoline pool is the simplest way for fuel suppliers to meet low-carbon fuel standard requirements. Thus, it's an ideal fuel for jurisdictions such as BC and California with their low- carbon fuel standards (LCFS), as it can be blended into gasoline pools. Blue Fuel gasoline will reduce vehicle CO 2 emissions by at least 10% compared to petroleum-based gasoline. RBC Capital Markets has been retained to raise US $55 million in private equity for the project's first phase which will employ about 1,500 people during construction and 150 in permanent, high-paying full-time positions. Construction should start in early 2017 with start-up set for 2020. The project has the support of area politicians and First Nations. "Getting this far has taken longer than I'd hoped but we're getting into a space not really occupied before," said Puetter, noting that no refineries have been built in Canada for 20 years. "It's a tall order but we're getting there. Instead of using (carbon- producing) oil to make gasoline, this makes more sense. There's a paradigm shift coming and we're on the front edge of the wave. Someone has to do this.'' n

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