Nova Scotia tidal turbine installed

A Canadian tidal power developer has installed a turbine at a test site in the Bay of Fundy. Cape Sharp Tidal's project off Nova Scotia could demonstrate the feasibility of larger-scale marine hydrokinetic power plants connected to the mainland electricity grid.

Cape Sharp Tidal is a joint venture between Canadian utility Emera Inc. and marine turbine manufacturer OpenHydro.  Its project entails a grid-connected 4-megawatt array consisting of two tidal turbines.  The project is located at the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) site.  Headquartered near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, FORCE is Canada's leading research center for in-stream tidal energy, with demonstration berths, a grid interconnection capable of accepting tidal power, and environmental monitoring capabilities.

This week Cape Sharp Tidal deployed the project's first turbine-generator, a 2-megawatt OpenHydro unit.  In subsequent work, crews interconnected the turbine cable tail to the FORCE site's main interconnection cable, an existing 16MW subsea export cable connected to an onshore substation.

Previous efforts to develop hydrokinetic tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy have met with difficulty.  While the bay offers large and powerful tides, weather and sea conditions can prove challenging, as can obtaining environmental and regulatory approvals.  A test tidal turbine deployed in 2009 was quickly destroyed; the turbine installed this week was originally slated for installation earlier but was delayed due to concerns over impacts to fisheries and the environment.  This week's installation represents a concrete step forward for Canadian tidal power.

Cape Sharp Tidal intends to install and connect a second turbine at the FORCE site in 2017.  According to the developer, its future plans -- subject to regulatory and business approvals -- could include a commercial-scale project of up to 300 megawatts capacity within 15 years.

Muskrat Falls megahydro cost increases

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is promoting the development of a multi-phase, gigawatt-scale hydropower project on the Churchill River in Labrador.  But estimates of the so-called megaproject's construction costs continue to mount, now reaching nearly $7 billion (Canadian).

The Churchill River drains much of western Labrador, combining large volumes of water with a significant drop in elevation.  For these reasons, Canadian provinces and utilities have long sought to harness its power.  In 1971, the Churchill Falls dam and hydropower plant came online; today, the Churchill Falls facility can generate 5,428 megawatts of power, giving it the second largest capacity of any power station in North America.

In 2010, Newfoundland and Labrador utility Nalcor Energy and Nova Scotia utility Emera announced the Lower Churchill project.  The first phase proposed, Muskrat Falls, entails the construction of a dam with an 824 megawatt power house, with the subsequent Gull Falls dam bringing the proposed Lower Churchill project's total capacity to over 3,000 megawatts.  The Muskrat Falls project received a key approval by provincial government in December 2012, and construction is now underway.  90 per cent of the project contracts have been awarded, and 98 per cent of the engineering on the project has been done.

Back in 2010 when Nalcor and Emera first announced the project, the cost forecast for the Newfoundland and Labrador portion was $5 billion.  But as the St. John's Telegram reports, the latest cost estimate for building the Muskrat Falls project has jumped by about $800 million, to $6.99 billion.

This estimate does not include the cost of the Maritime Link transmission system to be built by Emera, connecting Newfoundland to Nova Scotia via undersea cable.  The Maritime Link is expected to cost an additional $1.5 billion.

Despite the cost overruns, the project is reported to be on schedule to be completed in 2017.

Nova Scotia tidal power projects

Plans to develop tidal power resources in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia are moving forward, as Fundy Tidal Inc. announces firmer plans to deploy tide-powered generators at three locations in Digby County.

The extreme tidal range in the upper Bay of Fundy gives Nova Scotia a tremendous tidal energy resource.  The province has been home to the 20 megawatt barrage-based Annapolis Royal Tidal Power Plant for almost 30 years; more recently, Nova Scotia established a Marine Renewable Energy Strategy setting a target of 300 MW of commercial tidal development by 2020, an amount roughly equal to 10% of the province's electricity consumption.  Nova Scotia also established a Community-Based Feed-in-Tariff or COMFIT program designed to give qualified tidal energy developers certainty over project revenues early in the development phase.

Fundy Tidal Inc. proposed three projects in Digby County that have received approval through the feed-in tariff program.  The largest, to be developed in the Digby Gut, could generate up to 1.95 megawatts of power.  Two smaller projects in Grand Passage and Petit Passage could each generate up to 500 kilowatts of power.  These three projects have an expected development cost of $30 million.  Fundy Tidal also received approval for COMFIT funding for two projects on Cape Breton Island.

Last month, Fundy Tidal announced a strategic partnership with Tribute Resources Inc. and Tocardo International BV to develop the three Digby County sites.  Under the terms of that partnership, Tocardo will delivery tidal turbines, and will set up a tidal turbine assembly and manufacturing plant in Nova Scotia.  Fundy Tidal will serve as the overall developer and will retain a 51 percent interest in the projects, with Tribute Resources owning the remaining 49 percent interest.

This is not the first time tidal power projects have been proposed in Digby County; previous concepts have ranged from tidal barrage development to deployment of hydrokinetic turbines in conjunction with Ocean Renewable Power Co.  Fundy Tidal now plans to construct and deploy the Digby area projects to deliver power as soon as 2015.  Will these plans come to fruition?

Tidal power past, present, and future at Tide Mill Institute 2013

The Tide Mill Institute held its ninth annual conference this past Friday and Saturday.  About 60 people interested in the past, present, and future of tidal energy gathered at the Topsfield Historical Society's Gould Barn in Massachusetts.  The audience included developers of recreated historic tide mills and modern tidal power projects, inventors of tidal turbine technology, academics, state legislators, historians, architects, and other enthusiasts of tidal power.

Tide Mill Institute's John Goff speaks about historic tide mills in Salem, Massachusetts.

Ocean Renewable Power Company's president and CEO, Chris Sauer, gave the keynote presentation on ORPC's efforts and success in developing modern hydrokinetic tidal power plants in the Gulf of Maine and elsewhere.  Chris described the research and development process that led to ORPC's Turbine Generator Unit or TGU.  He also described the engineering, regulatory, and commercial challenges of developing tidal power plants today, as well as ORPC's approach to overcoming these challenges.

Other presentations included: Professor Kerr Canning's exposition of a tide mill site he discovered on the Apple River in Nova Scotia; Professor Robert Gordon's look at tide mill mechanics at sites in York, Maine; a review of tide mill history on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York, by Angela Kramer of the Brooklyn Historical Society and Proteus Gowanus; and a survey by representatives of local historical societies of tide mills on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

Tide Mill Institute members and attendees also enjoyed displays on historic and modern tide power projects, and informal discussions of archaeological discoveries and modern developments. 

The Tide Mill Institute will hold its 10th annual conference in 2014.

Tide Mill Institute to hold conference November 8-9, 2013

The Tide Mill Institute will hold its 9th annual conference this week in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  The event, to be held at the Topsfield Historical Society's Gould Barn on November 8 and 9, brings together people interested in the past, present, and future of tidal energy.

Tidal energy has been used to produce useful power since at least 619, based on archaeological finds at the site of Nendrum Monastery on an island off Northern Ireland.  Tide mills came to the New World along with early European settlers, who captured the energy embodied in the rise and fall of tides and put it to use powering grist mills, lumber mills, and other industries.  According to a 1979 paper, "Early Tide Mills: Some Problems", at one point over 300 tide mills operated in North America.  As their functionality was supplanted by steam engines, electricity, and internal combustion energy, much of society's historic use of tidal energy has been forgotten.

Meanwhile, people still look to the tides to provide useful power.  The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has been home to a 20 megawatt tidal power plant since 1984, and is promoting even more innovative uses of tidal energy resources through incentive programs and policies.  In the United States, the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) has developed the nation's first major grid-tied tidal electric generator, and has ambitious plans to bring more tidal and hydrokinetic projects online around the country.

This week's Tide Mill Institute event brings these themes together into a continuous narrative, from past through the present to the future.  The Tide Mill Institute's mission is:

• to advance appreciation of the American and international heritage of tide mill technology;
• to encourage research into the location and history of tide mill sites;
• to serve as a repository for tide mill data for students, scholars, engineers and the general public and to support and expand the community of these tide mill stakeholders; and 
• to promote appropriate re-uses of old tide-mill sites and the development of the use of tides as an energy source. 

The 2013 conference kicks off Friday night with an informal reception, followed by a symposium and dialogues Saturday from 8 AM through 3:30 PM.

For more information about the Tide Mill Institute, please contact:

• Bud Warren - budw@myfairpoint.net 207-373-1209
• Earl Taylor - ERMMWWT@aol.com 617-293-3052
• Todd Griset - tgriset@preti.com 207-791-3000

Nova Scotia unveils tidal energy goal

The Canadian Maritime province of Nova Scotia has unveiled a plan to develop its tidal energy resources.

Nova Scotia has articulated a vision to be a global leader in the development of technology and systems that produce environmentally sustainable, competitively priced electricity from the ocean.  Since 1984, when the 20 MW Annapolis Royal Tidal Power Plant was commissioned, Nova Scotia has been home to the only tidal barrage plant of its kind in North America.

This week, Nova Scotia Energy Minister Charlie Parker released a document known as the Nova Scotia Marine Renewable Energy Strategy (44-page PDF).  Citing the magnitude of the province's Bay of Fundy tidal resource - more than 160 billion tonnes of water flow with each tide, which the province calculates can deliver a commercial potential of approximately 2,400 megawatts of power - the strategy offers plans to address research, development, and regulatory initiatives.

Although the strategy includes wave and offshore wind power, its primary focus is on tidal energy production.  The Marine Renewable Energy Strategy sets a target of 300 MW of commercial tidal development by 2020, an amount roughly equal to 10% of the province's electricity consumption.

To achieve this goal, the Strategy proposes awarding one or more Power Development Licenses to large-scale project developers, likely partnerships of technology and utility or power generation companies.  Given the language in the Strategy, which references "[i]ndustry interest in developing a large-scale, 300 MW commercial project", it appears possible that the province is targeting a single, 300 MW tidal project to achieve its goals.  If so, it could lead to the development of the largest tidal power plant in the world, larger than the French La Rance project or the Korean Sihwa Lake project.

July 22, 2011 - Nova Scotia tidal energy: past, proposed, and future

This week's story about a possible hydrokinetic tidal energy project in Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy reminded me of large-scale tidal projects that have been proposed in northeastern North America over the years.  Chief among these may be the Passamaquoddy Power Project proposed in the early 20th century, but the PPP wasn't the only grand project dreamed up.

Sunset over the harbor at Five Islands, Georgetown, Maine.

One tidal project floated in the early 1980s involved developing up to 6,000 MW of tidal power capacity through two dams in Nova Scotia.  One dam would have blocked off Shepody Bay (the arm of the Bay of Fundy reaching toward Moncton and the Petitcodiac River near the Nova Scotia - New Brunswick border), while the other would have walled off part of Minas Basin between Cape Blomidon and Parrsboro.  Neither of these dams was ever built, although the tidal energy resource of Minas Basin continues to draw interest.

One reason may be the impact of the projects on coastal communities along the Bay of Fundy -- and in fact well out into the Gulf of Maine.  A news article from 1981 suggests that these tidal dams would have increased the tidal range in Portland, Maine -- about 300 miles away -- by up to 18 inches.  This increase in tidal range could have negatively impacted coastal communities, eroding soil, causing property damage, and tidal flooding.  By contrast, the article suggested that the Passamaquoddy project or a smaller one proposed for Half Moon Cove would not raise tides elsewhere.

These projects may not have been built, but with Nova Scotia's new community-based feed-in tariff, developers of in-stream tidal projects can expect $652 per MWh for qualified energy produced in the province.  Will Nova Scotia's feed-in tariff lead to more tidal projects in the Bay of Fundy?

July 19, 2011 - Nova Scotia tidal energy, feed-in tariffs and projects

Hydrokinetic energy projects are cropping up in Canada just as they are in the U.S.  (For a review of hydrokinetic energy, check out last month's entries.) The Bay of Fundy is famous for its tides, among the largest in the world.  The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is home to a large portion of this resource.  Nova Scotia is also home to an existing tidal power plant: utility Nova Scotia Power's Annapolis Tidal Power Plant.  This tidal energy project, which came online in 1984, has a capacity of 20 megawatts and can generally produce between 80 and 100 megawatt-hours per day.

The tide drops out of a tidal marsh near the Back River on Arrowsic Island, Maine.

Now, Maine-based Ocean Renewable Power Co. has announced plans with Nova Scotia-based Fundy Tidal Inc. to install underwater hydrokinetic turbines to generate electricity from the Bay of Fundy's tides.  The proposal involves the installation of 15 to 20 150-kW turbines in the Petit Passage between Digby Neck and Long Island off western Nova Scotia (map) by 2012. 

The new venture, named ORPC Nova Scotia Ltd., plans to benefit from Nova Scotia's feed-in tariff.  That program, known as the community-based feed-in tariff or COMFIT, is projected to require utilities to pay qualified tidal projects 65.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for their output.  This rate, about six times higher than the typical rate for electricity, is a significant incentive for the development of the province's resources.  Additional support is available from the provincial government to assess hydrokinetic and small tidal projects like the Petit Passage project.

This project may be smaller than the 500 MW Passamaquoddy Power Project first proposed in 1919, but it could represent the first commercial deployment of underwater hydrokinetic turbines in the Bay of Fundy, and follows in Nova Scotia's traditions of harvesting the energy of its tides.

June 15, 2011 - Nova Scotia feed-in tariff

Nova Scotia is poised to set favorable rates for community-scale renewable electricity projects.  This community-based feed-in tariff can help small projects get off the ground.

Back in April 2010, the Nova Scotia provincial government released its Renewable Electricity Plan (32-page PDF).  This document, subtitled “A path to good jobs, stable prices, and a cleaner environment”, sets forth a detailed plan “to move Nova Scotia away from carbon-based electricity towards greener, more local sources, and sets a commitment to reach 25% renewable electricity supply by 2015 – and a nonbinding goal of 40% by 2025.

While the plan envisions that most of the new renewable energy needed to meet these goals will come from “industrial-scale projects”, a key element of that plan targeted at smaller projects is the community-based feed-in tariff (COMFIT).  The COMFIT is designed to benefit 100 megawatts of qualified renewable projects connected to the grid at the distribution level.  To qualify for the COMFIT, a project must be developed or owned by municipalities, First Nations, co-ops, or non-profit groups, or be a small business operating through Community Economic Development Investment Funds.

Feed-in tariffs are widely used in the global renewable energy context.  As the Nova Scotia plan notes, “[m]ore than 45 jurisdictions around the world, including Spain, Germany, Ontario, and Vermont, have established feed-in tariffs (FITs) that support and encourage small-scale and community ownership.”

In Nova Scotia’s case, the feed-in tariff plan is designed to start small, with a limit of 100 MW of pilot projects.  The plan explains this cautious approach by noting that it is technically difficult to interconnect intermittent generation at the distribution level.  The plan also describes the balancing act between facilitating small-scale development while keeping ratepayer costs low:

Government has chosen not to extend the COMFIT to larger projects. Just as a commercial farm can produce vegetables cheaper than a garden patch, an industrial-scale wind farm can produce electricity cheaper than a backyard turbine. There are many economies of scale in renewable power production. Nevertheless, a conscious decision has been made to encourage small as well as larger renewable electricity projects. This is partly to ensure widely dispersed energy sources, and partly to encourage rural community economic development. A FIT will result in somewhat more expensive electricity than open competitive bidding, but it gives these smaller projects a degree of market certainty.

The plan continues:

Renewable electricity produced from small local projects will be slightly higher priced than electricity from large-scale projects. But since the total amount of power from COMFIT projects will start out small, the overall impact on rates is low—estimated at less than one percent on a typical consumer’s bill. Of course until the UARB sets the COMFIT rate, and we see how fully it is taken up, the precise impact can’t be calculated with certainty.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has held a public hearing on the COMFIT program rates, and is expected to issue an order finalizing tariffed rates early this summer.  Staff's consultant proposed the following tariff rates:

• $452 per MWh for wind projects ≤50 kW
• $139 per MWh for wind projects >50 kW
• $156 per MWh in year 2012 for biomass CHP projects, composed of a fixed component of $94 per MWh and an escalating component of $62 per MWh representing the cost of fuel
• $140 per MWh for run-of-river hydro projects
• $652 per MWh for in-stream tidal projects.

November 8, 2010 - NECBC U.S.‐Canada Energy Trade and Technology Conference recap

I enjoyed the 18th Annual U.S.‐Canada Energy Trade and Technology Conference sponsored by the New England - Canada Business Council last Thursday and Friday.  I've been a regular attendee in recent years, and this year's program was as dynamic as any I've seen.  On Thursday afternoon, my colleague Steve Hudson moderated a roundtable discussion on Washington and Ottawa Energy and Environmental Policy Initiatives.  Friday, participants enjoyed a mix of high-impact speakers like Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter and lively panels with key executives in regional energy businesses like Hydro-Quebec, TransCanada Power, and Tennessee Gas Pipeline.  The noontime panel held conference attendees rapt with a spirited discussion of some of the aspects of the Cape Wind offshore wind energy project and contracts for sale of its renewable power.  The sessions culminated with a keynote address on federal energy policy by a speaker from the US Chamber of Commerce.

It was very interesting learning from the speakers about their perspectives on energy issues.  To me, it was even better to reconnect with friends and get to know fellow conference attendees.  Hope to see you at the 19th annual NECBC energy meeting next year.

2/3/10: wind in the news in Maine and Nova Scotia

First Wind is considering developing another wind site in Maine, this time on Bowers Mountain in Carroll Plantation. First Wind is already Maine's largest wind operator, with 42 MW at Mars Hill and 57 MW online at Stetson Mountain sites -- plus 26 more MW at Stetson II coming online this spring, and DEP approval secured for a proposed 51 MW project in Oakfield. Next steps include compiling the data from the three test towers on the site, and engaging in a dialogue with the people living in the area. If you look at the map of Bowers Mountain, you can see that it's north of the Grand Lakes system, just south of Route 6, about halfway between Lincoln and the Canadian border at Vanceboro. From satellite photos, the area seems to have been mostly cut over relatively recently.

Wind's the thing today in Atlantic Canada, with reports that Bangor Hydro's parent Emera (also owner of Nova Scotia Power) has gobbled up the remaining shares of the Digby, NS wind project -- 20 turbines, with a 20-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power. Emera projects that the generators will be online by the end of 2010 and will produce enough energy to serve 10,000 homes. Nova Scotia Power also has a stake in two other wind projects being developed in Nova Scotia: a 49% interest in the Point Tupper project on the southwest tip of Cape Breton Island, and the entire Nuttby Mountain project in the Cobequid Mountains.

Maine's Governor Baldacci has traveled to Washington, DC to meet with President Obama and ten other governors on energy issues. His stated priorities include deepwater offshore wind and other ocean energy technologies, residential weatherization, and the potential for a federal climate change bill. Meanwhile, state representative Alexander Cornell du Houx, a young military veteran, has made his own trip to DC to work on energy issues.