The main obstacle to tidal power turbines hitting the Bay of Fundy this summer has been cleared.
Environment Minister Margaret Miller announced Monday approval for the proposed Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Venture test platforms and monitoring program.
FORCE is the nation's test centre for in-stream tidal energy technology providing developers with a shared observation facility, submarine cables, grid connection and now, approved environmental monitoring on its leased site in the Minas Passage.
FORCE's latest version of its environmental monitoring plan was given written authorization by Nova Scotia environment minister Margaret Miller on Monday.
The province has approved a plan to deploy two experimental tidal turbines in the Minas Passage for research purposes — and doesn't anticipate marine life will be chopped up by "any food processor effects."
The government announced the approval of the proposed monitoring program for the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Venture in a news release on Monday.
Nonetheless, the project is currently on pause while Cape Sharp Tidal Venture consults with fishing organizations "who feel that they have not yet been heard," company spokeswoman Sarah Dawson said in an email. "We wouldn't want to pre-judge the process."
Plans for the installation of a tidal turbine on the bottom of the ocean floor in the Bay of Fundy, N.S., have been put on hold. The company, Cape Sharp Tidal and the provincial government have postponed the project.
Fishermen and scientists are concerned about the impact the turbines could have on an important and diverse marine ecosytem.
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.”
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.
