All FERN News

The tidal power turbine on the floor of the Minas Passage has passed a first environmental test.

Sensors needed to help gauge impact on marine life are functioning, although what conclusions can be drawn from the data is already subject of debate.

Nova Scotia is now officially generating tidal energy after the first tidal turbine in North America was successfully connected to the power grid Tuesday.

The 1,000-tonne turbine, which is part of the Cape Sharp Tidal project to harness the immense power of the Bay of Fundy, is now powering 500 homes in Nova Scotia.

“We are ushering a new era in marine renewable energy and taking an unprecedented step toward a lower carbon future,” Energy Minister Michel Samson said.

WESTPORT – Tidal energy researchers want to experiment with pumpkins for mapping the flow of the tides in Grand Passage.

Greg Trowse of Luna Ocean Consulting has already done a lot of preliminary work from his kayak on trips around Brier and Long Islands and other parts of southwest Nova Scotia, launching and tracking special drifters he developed for this work.

 

Recently Trowse and Reid Gillis, a Freeport fisherman and former whale watch operator have launching and tracking more drifters from Reid’s rigid inflatable boat.

Now Trowse wants to hold a pumpkin race with the whole community to see if he can use pumpkins for mapping ocean currents. Drones will take aerial images of the bright orange globes which will allow researchers to see how exactly the tides move in the passage.

 

DIGBY – Two different tidal developers are holding two separate information meetings in Digby County this week. Spray Tidal is holding a public meeting Wednesday evening, Nov. 16 in Tiverton to discuss their project in Petit Passage. Black Rock Tidal power is holding an open house in Digby Thursday evening, Nov. 17 to discuss their project in the Minas Passage.

Tiverton

Tidal power in Petit Passage

Spray Tidal information meeting

Tiverton Community Hall

Nov. 16, 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Digby

TIRTON S40 turbine for Bay of Fundy

Black Rock Tidal Power open house

Digby Fire Hall

Nov. 17, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

 

WEST BAY – A tidal power turbine is now in place in the turbulent Minas Channel, after a successful deployment operation was conducted by Cape Sharp Tidal on Monday morning.

With help from heavy equipment such as the Scotia Tide deployment barge and the massive Kingfisher tug vessel from Atlantic Towing, the turbine was slowly lowered to the ocean floor during a four-hour operation on an ebb tide.

The operation was complete at 10:40 a.m., with excited onlookers watching from the nearby FORCE (Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy) building, and other vantage points along the shore.

The operation took place on the five-year anniversary of the official opening of the FORCE centre on Nov. 7, 2011.