Halifax, NS, December 11, 2015 – Today, the Nova Scotia Legislature passed Bill 110, the Marine Renewable Energy Act, in an effort to ensure that marine renewable energy has appropriate licensing and environmental protections in place.
Government will introduce changes to strengthen the Marine Renewable-energy Act. The changes are the result of consultations over the summer on the bill's content and direction. Changes include a stronger requirement for environmental monitoring, the creation of a new marine renewable-energy area in the Digby Gut, and several administrative changes.
An agreement has been signed between government and Irish-based DP Energy to install a 4.5-megawatt in-stream tidal energy project at the FORCE test site in Parrsboro.
Plans to launch two power-generating turbines in the Bay of Fundy by the end of this year have been delayed until next spring.
A spokesperson for OpenHydro, the French company that is working with Emera to develop the province's tidal industry, says the barge and one turbine should be complete by the end of this year, but the second turbine will not be ready.The winter weather is also a factor in postponing the deployment.
