Nova Scotia has long boasted that it is home to the highest tides in the world. By next year, it may be able to claim it has among the most powerful ones, too.

In January, the Nova Scotia government became the first jurisdiction in Canada to approve commercial development of tidal energy. Nova Scotia Power, Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company and Vancouver-based Clean Current Power Systems Inc. will each test their chosen turbine technology in the Bay of Fundy. The companies will invest between $10 million and $15 million in the turbines.

On the other side of the country, the British Columbia government is considering sites around Vancouver Island, while in Manitoba, researchers are considering if ocean tidal technology can be used to capture the power of strong river currents. If it can, it may provide a new energy source for remote and northern communities.

As the world searches for renewable energy sources, tidal energy proponents believe Canada and its long coastlines could power the development of a new industry.

"Tides are better the farther you are from the equator, so Canada is in a good position," says Glen Darou, president and CEO of Clean Current Power Systems. "Tidal energy really has some special features because the tides are cyclical, which gives you predictability. When it comes to energy, that is very attractive."

Mr. Darou is an energy sector veteran. A former chief financial officer for Shell Canada, he says interest in the technology drew him to tidal energy.

The technology is based on a simple premise: large turbines, lowered into deep ocean water, will harness the powerful tidal currents as the water rushes past. An average turbine can produce about two megawatts of power -- equivalent to one wind turbine.

Proponents envision tidal energy farms tethered beneath the water, silently spinning and converting the energy in the tides into electricity.

"Anyone who lives on the coasts says this is a no-brainer," says Chris Campbell, executive director of Oceans Renewable Energy Group, an industry association.

Worldwide, the industry is still in its infancy and Mr. Campbell says Canadian investors and companies that invest in these early days could end up selling their technology to the world. Last month, Nova Scotia Power parent company, Emera, did just that, buying a seven-per-cent stake in OpenHydro, an Irish turbine developer. Mr. Campbell says interest is growing, albeit slowly. This month, he'll host a conference in Quebec City for investors and researchers. There is interest in technology that might work in major rivers such as the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay.

And then there is the North. "In terms of tidal, three-quarters of the Canadian resources are in the Arctic," said Mr. Campbell, describing the results of a National Research Council (NRC) analysis that mapped Canada's potential tidal resources.

The NRC estimates there is about 42,000 megawatts of tidal power in Canadian waters. Just over 30,000 megawatts is in Nunavut along the Hudson Strait that connects Hudson Bay with the North Atlantic.

"Nunavut Power is trying to understand what the implications are," said Mr. Campbell. "Those nice maps have got their attention."

It caught the attention of John Woods, too. As vice-president of energy development for Minas Basin Pulp and Power, he oversees the forestry company's foray into renewable energy. In addition to being one of the three companies selected to test its chosen tidal technology in the Annapolis Basin, Minas Basin Pulp and Power has been contracted to build the $10-million research station.

"There's a whole lot of debate about how much energy you can take from the Bay of Fundy," says Mr. Woods, referring to the NRC analysis, which estimates the bay contains 2,700 megawatts.

The high tides, which flow in and out of the bay on a 12-hour cycle and can rise to 15 metres, will be a formidable test site for Minas Basin and its competitors' technologies. To Woods, that sounds like perfect conditions: "The goal is to be able to say that if it works in Fundy you can do it anywhere in the world. Our hope is in 10 years, people will judge tidal technology by asking if it is Fundy-certified."

Source: Canada.com 

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