Waves of green energy will soon be lapping Nova Scotia’s shores. Nova Scotia Power has announced it will install a 1-megawatt tidal turbine that will be installed in the middle of the Bay of Fundy and will be an integral part of the power company’s tidal power testing facility.

The Bay of Fundy is home to the world’s largest and most powerful tides. A recent study by the Electric Power Research Institute has singled out the Bay of Fundy as one of the best spots on the planet to deploy new green tidal turbine technologies. The concept uses tidal currents to rotate massive turbines installed beneath the sea generating sustainable energy to a local power station.

Nova Scotia Power has been harnessing the power of the Bay since the 1984. That year saw the launch of the Annapolis Tidal Power Plant which is recognized as one of three tidal plants that exist in the world and the one operating in the Western Hemisphere.

A new research project, conceived in 2007, will see the installation of an Open-Centre turbine on the sea floor. Up until this breakthrough in green energy, the more common way to harness tidal energy was to build a dam across a river or outcropping of land that would fuel water into the plant using a turbine.

Unlike the dam, the sub-sea turbine can turn in both directions and will be able to produce energy during the both the rise and fall of the tides. Another interesting feature of these underwater turbines is that they are held in place on the ocean floor using their own weight. This engineering feat will eliminate the need for chains and anchors that could potentially disrupt the local ecosystem.

The project was a joint effort between Nova Scotia Power, the Irish based Open Hydro and Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arm’s-length, not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada (SDTC). Funding for the project will be provided largely by Nova Scotia Power who will kick in $10 million while SDTC has approved a $4.5 million contribution.

Other players in the new venture include the Dartmouth based Cherubini Metal Works who were commissioned to manufacture the $1.7 million base that houses the 10 metre wide Open-Centre turbine. Originally designed by Open Hydro’s engineers, the base was created in the Dartmouth steed fabrication plant and has employed 24 people since April 2009.

Nova Scotia Power is well prepared to battle critics and speculative fishers who have raised concerns about the project’s effect on the environment and the fish stocks in the Bay of Fundy. In fact, the power company have gone out their way to ensure that the turbine is sustainable and has a very small carbon footprint. Green features of the turbine’s construction include a design that will allow for the safe passage of marine life as well as a system that does not use oil, gas or other lubricating fluids that could risk polluting the ocean.

Should this two year pilot project prove a success, Nova Scotia Power will consider installing farms, similar to wind farms, of Open-Center turbines in the Bay. In theory, these farms would provide a renewable and long-term supply of energy in Nova Scotia. Not to mention a veritable tidal wave of positive economic activity in the region and a blue print for other ocean faring regions to follow.


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