Tidal power project lauded

thechronicleherald.ca
Fri. May 29

A multimillion-dollar tidal power demonstration project in Nova Scotia will be a success even if it shows energy can't be extracted from the Bay of Fundy, says a tidal energy project consultant. "The only way it fails is if we don't learn anything at all," Doug Keefe told a renewable energy conference in Halifax Thursday. "We need to know whether we can do this right or not do it at all."

Using different technologies, three different groups are working toward putting demonstration turbines in the Bay of Fundy to harness energy and generate electricity. The turbines are expected to be submerged in the Minas Passage, near Black Rock, 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro.

Scientific data collected about the potential environmental effects of the project ― on everything from marine life to the shoreline ― will be submitted to federal and provincial regulatory authorities today. That will trigger a 90-day environmental impact assessment, those involved in the project say. A turbine, operated by Nova Scotia Power and Ireland's OpenHydro, will be the first to be launched.

It is expected to be in the water by October or November, Mark Savory, vice-president of technical and construction services for Nova Scotia Power, said Thursday. The two remaining turbines will be in the water next year. Mr. Keefe, hired by the provincial Energy Department as a consultant to the tidal energy project, said he is a neutral party and just wants to determine if harnessing energy from the Bay of Fundy is safe and beneficial. "If it proves that it can't be safely extracted from the Bay of Fundy, then we want it to stop before we do any real harm," he said.

Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co, of Hantsport will build an onshore facility for the demonstration project. The energy will be extracted from the water and brought onshore through an underwater cable. Minas has also teamed up with Marine Current Turbines of Bristol, England, to put a test turbine in the water. Clean Current Power Systems of Vancouver will install the third demonstration turbine.

Minas recently put tracking transmitters on more than 100 large chunks of ice and debris in the Minas Passage and uploaded real-time information to see if they could potentially interfere with the operation of the turbines. The ice chunks and debris travel at huge speeds, but the data collected suggests they won't interfere with the turbine's operations, said John Woods, vice-president of energy development for Minas Basin Pulp and Power.

However, there are challenges to finding a submarine cable that can withstand water turbulence in the Bay of Fundy and bring the energy onshore, said Mr. Woods. The company is turning to expertise in England to buy and install the cable, which is expected to cost about $10 million, he said. Saltwater corrosion and storm damage to the turbines are other worries, as is the challenge of getting the massive turbines into the water, Mr. Savory said.