The province of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada will witness the development of a new and unique clean energy project that will generate clean electricity from the energy generated by the sea’s tides.
Peter Mackay, provincial representative, announced that 20 million Canadian dollars ($19.8 million) from the Clean Energy Fund was allotted to demonstrate the feasibility of tidal technology at the commercial level.
The fund, part of Canada’s economic action plan, is investing $795 million over five years in clean energy technology development and demonstration. The Canadian government is supporting nearly 20 projects under the renewable and clean energy portion of the fund, totaling up to $146 million.
Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy, a nonprofit, aims to be the first to deploy commercial-scale tidal power turbines in Canada with the help of the fund.
   |
   |
Tidal in-stream energy convertors will be placed in the Minas Passage, an area that holds up to 333 megawatts of potential installed in-stream convertor capacity based on assessments.
In-stream energy converters harness the kinetic energy of moving water through tidal turbines in the same way windmills harness moving air.
This type of tidal energy technology is reportedly gaining recognition because it is removable, can be scaled-up gradually, has lower potential costs and has smaller environmental impact compared with other tidal processes.
Canada’s The Globe and Mail reported that a contract to install four underwater cables that will connect the tidal installations to the Nova Scotia power grid has been finalized.
The 11 million dollar contract is between Nova Scotia Power Inc., Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Limited and Alstom.
The four cables will be capable of bearing 16 MW of electricity – enough to power 20,000 homes. According to Natural Resources Canada, the cable project will support the tidal power project with the largest transmission capacity for in-stream tidal energy in the world.
“By 2011, any tidal device installed at [Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy] will be able to deliver power directly to the grid. The size of the cable also gives us room for significant growth, if tidal technology proves to be both safe and viable in the Bay of Fundy,» said John Woods, chairman of the research center.
Nova Scotia aims to get 25 percent of electricity in the state from renewable sources by 2015. This target will rise to 40 percent by 2020.
Nova Scotia also placed a community-based feed-in-tariff to support local renewable energy projects under the provincial Renewable Electricity Plan.
«Investments in clean energy projects like this one will help ensure Nova Scotia plays a key role in securing Canada’s position as a clean energy superpower,» claimed Mr. Mackay.
