Looks like the Bay of Fundy, already a magnet for fossil hunters, will soon be more involved in the global quest for fossil-fuel alternatives. The Premier of Nova Scotia just announced that a tidal power demonstration project will proceed (pending a full environmental assessment). To say this will make waves on the international scene is no exaggeration. That’s because the Bay of Fundy is blessed with some of the most robust tides in the world. Hopefully, the good news will be that we are no longer dealing with dams that damage ecosystems but with the equivalent of wind turbines that churn underwater. Photo shows demo CleanTech in-stream turbine, one of the candidate companies for the project. Twelve million dollars will now be dedicated to building a testing and research facility that will serve two purposes: the beachhead where the energy gathered by the underwater turbines is converted to electricity and a research lab where scientists will gauge the environmental, technical and commercial feasibility of harnessing the Bay of Fundy tides. It's my understanding that there is also supposed to be some kind of interpretive centre for visitors.
If it all works out, the Bay of Fundy could be transformed into an internationally significant centre of excellent for tidal power.
I think the Bay of Fundy is already internationally significant! Thanks for the comments on my blog. How did you find me? When my baby is a little bigger, we're definitely going to be visiting. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Tara, I regularly search the Bay of Fundy on the internet to see who's talking about it. Your blog turned up in my search! Sure hope you make it up here some day.
ReplyDeleteTerri
Hi Tara, nice to find your blog. We're your competitors for the highest world tidal range here in Burnham-on-Sea, UK. We're trying to promote a barrage here not just for tidal power but also to protect thousands of square miles of low-lying rich pasture land, the Somerset Levels. If you visit our website you'll see we're aware of IPCC reports likely to upwardly revise their predicted sea-level rises - for us this would be serious.
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