A tidal turbine that was manufactured in Pictou, N.S., and will be transported by barge to the Bay of Fundy.Darren Pittman
Two gigantic turbines will soon be immersed in the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy where, if all goes well, they will begin generating electricity for the Nova Scotia power grid later this summer.
Next weekend, the first of two 16-metre-diameter turbines that look like components from oversized jet engines will begin a two-week journey by barge from a shipyard in Pictou – on the north side of Nova Scotia facing Prince Edward Island. It must travel around Cape Breton Island because it is too big to go through the Strait of Canso, the channel that lies between Cape Breton and the mainland. Essentially, it will have to circumnavigate the province to reach the Bay of Fundy.
At the entrance to the Minas Basin, near the town of Parrsboro, it will be submerged into a waiting "berth" at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), the site that was established to test large-scale in-stream tidal turbines and connect them to the power grid.
The barge will then return to Pictou to pick up a second identical turbine from the construction site. By the end of August, both will be hooked up to a cable that has already been placed on the sea floor. They will begin to pump a total of four megawatts of electricity into the Nova Scotia grid, enough to power about 1,000 homes.
After years of planning, false starts and delays, this could mark the start of a new era in renewable power generation in Canada, as the massive power of the Fundy tides is tamed to make electricity with in-stream turbines.
There are a handful of existing tidal power plants around the world, including one near Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia. But most use a "barrage" system, where tidal water flows into a reservoir, then powers traditional hydro turbines on the way back out to sea. Placing arrays of turbines directly in the tidal current has much greater potential, avoids the need for big dams and eliminates much of the environmental impact. But getting the technology right has been a slow process.
FORCE was created by the federal and provincial governments and private sector partners as a place to test in-stream turbines and monitor their environmental footprint, while ensuring Canada has a place in the technology's development.
The turbines that will set out for the FORCE site next week are owned by Cape Sharp Tidal, a joint venture between Nova Scotia utility Emera Inc. and OpenHydro, a French-owned, Irish-based, tidal development firm.
OpenHydro was involved in an earlier attempt to test a turbine at FORCE, before the underwater cables and grid connection systems were in place at the site. In 2009, it deployed a smaller prototype, but the powerful tidal current ripped the blades off the device.
OpenHydro learned many lessons from that experience, particularly about the power of the Fundy tides. The new turbines are much larger and more robust than the earlier version, Cape Sharp Tidal spokeswoman Sarah Dawson said. "They are heavier, stronger and redesigned," she said.
OpenHydro also gained experience deploying a number of experimental tidal turbines off Britain and France. Currently, it is in the process of installing a grid-connected tidal array off the northern French coast, using two turbines identical to those in the Fundy project. However, they will generate less power because the tides there aren't as strong as in Nova Scotia, which boasts the highest tides in the world.
If the Fundy project goes well, Cape Sharp Tidal hopes to increase production of power from the Fundy tides substantially in the coming years with many more turbines. For this initial phase, $33-million in contracts went to Nova Scotia companies for the construction of components, winches, the specialized barge, and towing services, but Cape Sharp hasn't yet said whether it will build future turbines in the province.
Still, tidal development could mean many jobs in Nova Scotia, along with a potentially huge source of emissions-free electricity. The provincial government has set up a "feed-in tariff" that pays a premium for power generated by tidal turbines, to provide further incentive for development.
Nova Scotia also insisted on proper monitoring of the turbines to ensure there is as little damage as possible to the environment and life under water. Essentially, FORCE is both a host and a steward, communications manager Matt Lumley said. It will hire experts to measure noise and monitor the impact of turbines on fish, lobsters, marine mammals and sea birds, he said.
In the coming years, other groups are expected to begin installing turbines at FORCE. Black Rock Tidal Power Inc., a company owned by German firm Schottel Hydro, recently awarded a contract to a company in the province, to construct its first Nova Scotia tidal turbine platform.
The Black Rock system, which looks very different from OpenHydro's, has 40 small turbines mounted on an undersea platform. It is set to be installed at FORCE in 2017.
Two other consortia also have berths at the Fundy site, but have not set any timetable for deployment.