Canada invests in Nova Scotia tidal power project

The government of Canada has announced an investment of C$28.5 million to U.K.-based Sustainable Marine Energy Ltd., to fund the construction and installation of an array of floating tidal energy generation platforms in the Bay of Fundy. If developed as planned, the project would be Canada's first floating tidal energy array.

On November 5, 2020, Sustainable Marine and Canada's Minister of Natural Resources announced the award which will fund the development of up to nine megawatts of tidal power capable of delivery to the mainland electric grid. One floating "PLAT-1" platform has been tested in the waters of Grand Passage for over one year. A second platform is currently being assembled onshore for launching in Grand Passage later this year; this second platform will be relocated down the bay to the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) in 2021.

According to the proponents, the project could displace 17,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, while creating new jobs in the province and demonstrating the ability to harness tides "as a reliable source of renewable electricity to power homes, vehicles and businesses."

The project is funded through Natural Resources Canada's Emerging Renewable Power Program, one component in a broad-ranging $180-billion "Investing in Canada" national infrastructure plan. The Emerging Renewable Power Program is based on the recognition that emerging renewable projects "face higher risks, costs and more regulatory issues than projects using established renewable energy sources." The ERP program provides federal government funding to qualified emerging renewable projects in an effort to mitigate these risks sufficiently to let emerging renewables "play a larger role in Canada’s electricity supply mix.

Canada has described tidal energy, whether reliant on tidal range or currents, as "a clean, renewable energy source" with "the potential to significantly reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and improve local air quality by displacing electricity generated from fossil fuels." Tidal energy has long been harvested, by tide mills and in other forms, but modern tidal hydroelectric power plants have not been widely adopted. As of 2016, Canada ranked fourth globally in installed tidal power capacity (with about 40 megawatts at that time), with studies suggesting significantly more potential -- including one study identifying over 7,000 megawatts of potential in the Minas Passage alone, 2,500 of which is said to have commercial potential without significant effects on peak tide height.