All FERN News
Tidal power: Great green promise for N.S.?
Tidal power proponents and fishermen plying the Bay of Fundy agree on one thing: weaning Nova Scotia off fossil fuels and onto renewable energy.
The two parties also agree on the need for more research on how tidal turbines may affect marine life in the bay’s Minas Passage. Both sides presented their findings on Thursday to a legislature committee.
“People have concerns. This is a new technology with many questions to answer. We share those concerns and the more people participate in the conversation, the better,” said Tony Wright, general manager for Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy. “We will continue to make changes as we continue to learn. We are committed to getting this right together.”
HISTORY: Three early schemes to harness Fundy tides
We’re about to see it happen – the Bay of Fundy’s tidal power will soon be harnessed. And while there are legitimate environmental concerns that must first be addressed, the unlimited power offered by those awesome Fundy tides will trump everything.
This is a history column, however, and the last place to discuss the pros and cons of Fundy tidal power. However, the history behind early attempts to harness the Fundy tides is interesting. I started writing about those attempts in this and other newspapers over a decade ago and I’m still finding new things about them; some “attempts,” as I found, were mere dreams, some came close to fruition, and other grand schemes were just that – grand schemes that quietly faded away.
Turbines for Minas Passage need real-world testing, officials say
The only way to answer some of the remaining questions about the impact of turbines on marine life is to put one in the water, say scientists and government officials.
The deployment of two two-megawatt turbines in the Minas Passage by Cape Sharp Tidal is on hold, in part due to fishing groups worried not enough is known about what will happen once the turbines begin to operate.
Beach cleanup a regular duty at FORCE
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.
OPINION: Fundy needs a test turbine to answer valid questions
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.