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Staff from the visitor centre took advantage of the quiet morning and headed for the beach with garbage bags in hand, picking up trash washed ashore by some of the world’s most powerful tidal currents.

This cleanup was a way to invite the public to take part in the cleanup, which FORCE staff does at least once a month, according to facilities manager Mary McPhee.

With two in-stream tidal energy turbines scheduled for deployment this summer, there has been increasing excitement and concern about what this means for Nova Scotia’s future.

Some worry that even testing turbines will be harmful to marine life because Nova Scotia’s previous experience with the Annapolis Tidal Station showed significant effects on fish, sediment and coastal erosion.

But the Annapolis Tidal Station is a dam. And like most conventional hydroelectric dams, it traps water in a permanent, concrete enclosure, forcing marine life through the turbine.

In-stream devices are different. Resembling underwater windmills, they are placed in the natural flow of ocean currents. These devices are scalable and removable. In fact, that’s already happened. One device has gone in and was removed a year later.

Lynn Blodgett's time on a beach in the Bahamas might have provided the key to harnessing the power of the Bay of Fundy.

Several years ago as the former CEO of Xerox Services was recovering from an illness, he watched the Caribbean tides coming in and out and had a big thought.

"I just became obsessed with the idea of why can't we figure a way to harness this energy."

Blodgett formed a new company, Big Moon Power, and set out to do just that in January 2015. But while other attempts to tame the highest tides in the world have used some form of turbine design, some of which have generated a lot of controversy, Big Moon uses something different.

Abstract submission deadline is July 31, 2016

Are you a graduate student, early-stage researcher, or young professional in offshore renewable energy?  You’re invited to the University of Maine this October for INORE’s annual North American Symposium!  Join us for four days of research sharing, idea exchange, workshops, and site visits in a dynamic and informal environment.  Meet and collaborate with like-minded individuals from around the world specializing in offshore renewable energy, including:

  • Technology and engineering of offshore renewable energy devices
  • Environmental monitoring and sustainability of marine renewables
  • Marine resource assessment
  • Policy and human dimensions of offshore renewable energy

Maine is home to two of the first grid-connected offshore renewable energy devices deployed in the United States.  This symposium will draw on the region’s experience to address the challenges of transitioning offshore energy technologies from the lab to the ocean.  Speakers include key players in offshore renewable energy in the northeastern United States, such as Maine Sea Grant, Maine Aqua Ventus, Ocean Renewable Power Company, and more!

One of the five-storey high turbines was scheduled to leave Pictou this weekend to be taken by barge around the province to a test location in the Minas Basin near Parrsboro.

However, Nova Scotia Environment Minister Margaret Miller says the province has yet to approve a proposed environmental effects monitoring program.

“They're awaiting for us to look over that. We're working with our partners at DFO, and when we have all the information we'll be able to make a judgment call on that environmental approval,” Miller said in an interview.