Tidal - Related Articles
Ocean Renewable Power Company To Install Maine Tidal Energy System
With its federal license in hand, a Maine-based tidal energy company is ready to install its underwater power system for the first time on the floor of the ocean. Ocean Renewable Power Co. aims to begin installation of its first grid-connected power unit in mid-March at a 60-acre site in Cobscook Bay at the nation's easternmost tip. The first unit capable of powering 20 to 25 homes will be hooked up to the grid this summer, and four more units will be installed next year at a total cost of $21 million for the project, said Chris Sauer, president and chief executive officer of the Portland-based company. Eventually, Ocean Renewable hopes to install more units to bring its electrical output to 4 megawatts at sites off both Lubec and Eastport. Ocean Renewable holds permits for three sites in the area, one of the world's best tidal sites, where twice a day the tide rises and falls 20 feet. All told, the company sees up to 50 megawatts of tidal power potential in the Eastport and Lubec areas, enough to power thousands of homes, Sauer said. "It's never going to be the dominant power-generating resource in the state of the Maine, but it's going to be a significant contributor," he said.
The Ocean Renewable turbine generator unit self-starts when the tidal current reaches about 2 knots, and is designed to produce up to 180 kilowatts under ideal circumstances. On average, however, it'll produce 60 kilowatts at the installation site in Cobscook Bay near Seward Neck in Lubec, Sauer said.
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Once it's completed, the full array of five of those turbine generator units will produce about 300 kilowatts under the pilot project license issued last week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The completed pilot project will produce enough electricity for about 100 homes.
A month earlier, FERC issued the first such license to Verdant Power, which hopes to produce tidal energy from New York City's East River. Verdant's tidal power design looks a lot like a wind turbine, only it's underwater. Ocean Renewable uses rotating foils that lend the appearance of a manual reel mower for cutting grass. Ocean Renewable starts work later this month with underwater installation of a heavy steel base, which will be about 100 feet down on the ocean floor. A turbine generator unit will be attached to the base, with at least 60 feet of clearance between the device and the ocean surface at the low tide. Previously, the company's prototype was tested in the waters off Lubec and Eastport, but it was mounted on a barge and lowered underwater for testing. The Coast Guard will set rules to ensure fishing and recreational boat can safely operate despite the presence a barge, platforms with cranes and boats with divers. The general contractor is Perry Marine & Construction.
Officials in Canada are watching the Maine project with interest. By 2014, Ocean Renewable and Nova Scotia-based Fundy Tidal Inc. hope to install the same units in waters off Nova Scotia, where Bay of Fundy offers even greater tidal power potential, officials have said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/ocean-renewable-power-company_n_1320973.html
Consultants Target Digby as Tidal Energy Port
A recently released provincially-commissioned consultant’s report has put Digby atop the list of Nova Scotian ports able to service the tidal industry. The Nova Scotia Department of Energy hired Collective Wisdom Solutions, exp. Services Inc. and Maritime Tidal Energy Corp to assess ports and their infrastructure as possible sites to support marine renewable energy projects. Marine renewable energy includes tidal, offshore wind and wave energy projects. The report singles out Digby as the only reasonable location to launch and carry out maintenance on the large tidal turbines being proposed for the Minas Passage site in the Bay of Fundy. “Digby quite conceivably could become an even more important port if other areas of the Bay of Fundy, beyond the Minas Passage, are developed,” emphasizes the report. Digby is the closest Nova Scotian port to the Minas Passage with water at low tide and land available for new assembly and maintenance facilities. — By Jonathan Riley, Digby County Courier, Transcontinental Media
http://www.ns.dailybusinessbuzz.ca/Industry%20Spotlight/Energy:%20Powerful%20Possibilities/2011-11-04/article-2796271/Eye-on-Energy/1
World's Leading Tidal Energy Centres Forge Alliance
The world's most recognized tidal energy R&D sites are combining forces to make their research efforts smarter, faster, and more coordinated. Richard Morris, Commercial Director of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), and John Woods, Chair of the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) this week signed a strategic agreement at the All-Energy Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland, to help advance the marine renewable energy industry worldwide. “Over two thirds of the surface of the planet is ocean. The better we understand how to safely and reliably harness its energy potential, the sooner we’ll see the benefits to both our economy and environment,” said Mr. Woods. “This agreement means we can get there faster: two heads are better than one.” “There have been more grid-connected marine energy converters deployed at EMEC than any other single site in the world” said Mr. Morris. “From world leading first-hand experience over the last eight years, EMEC has developed extensive knowledge. “We are happy to be using our test centre know-how to further device testing in other countries. According to RenewableUK the marine renewable industry could deliver 10,000 jobs by 2020 in the UK. EMEC are delighted to be working with FORCE and the industry leaders to make sure this clean energy source delivers.”
EMEC is located in Orkney, Scotland; the site was chosen for its excellent wave and tidal currents, grid connection, sheltered harbour facilities and a centre of excellence for renewable energy and environmental issues that exists within the local community. EMEC has 11 projects either in the water or in fabrication at its test sites. Facilities were expanded in 2010, giving a total of five cabled berths at the wave site and seven at the tidal site. New facilities have also been created to allow developers to trial smaller scale marine energy device in less challenging sea conditions. FORCE is located in the Minas Passage area of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada, known to have the highest tides in the world. Current research suggests up to 2500 megawatts may be safely extracted from the surrounding area – more than Nova Scotia’s total electricity demand. FORCE is scheduled to host four of the world’s most advanced tidal technologies in 2012; FORCE is currently fabricating four lengths of submarine cable with a combined capacity of 64 megawatts: more total power than any other in-stream tidal site in the world.
This strategic agreement builds on EMEC and FORCE’s existing assets, and will help strengthen both organizations capacity for research, including environmental assessment and monitoring and turbine and submarine cable deployment, connection, maintenance, and retrieval “I am delighted EMEC has signed a strategic agreement with the FORCE tidal test facility at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia,” Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond. ”The pooling of resources, endeavour and initiative between Scotia Old and New should move this exciting sector even further forward.” Nova Scotia’s Premier Darrell Dexter said: “Nova Scotia has set some of the most aggressive renewable electricity targets on the planet, quadrupling our supply by 2020. I believe tidal can play a role in that mix, not only as a source of clean energy, but also a major new industry.” Mr. Woods added: “With four turbines and the largest submarine cable capacity in the world, total project investment at FORCE will exceed $100 million. That represents significant economic activity and jobs in our province – and we are just getting started.” OpenHydro Environmental and External Affairs Manager Sue Barr said: “OpenHydro strongly supports a knowledge sharing partnership between EMEC and FORCE. As the first developer to deploy in both sites, we can see clearly the benefits of sharing experience in the testing and monitoring of marine energy devices between the two research groups. “The partnership offers the prospect of long-term benefits to the industry as we move towards commercialisation. Our experience at both locations has been integral to our technology and business development. We hope this partnership helps further develop the practices, standards and research required to support the marine renewable energy industry at this critical time.”
Atlantis Resources Corporation’s Director of Corporate Development Joseph Fison said: “Atlantis is committed to long term commercial scale testing programs at FORCE and EMEC. Both facilities provide excellent testing locations in open ocean conditions for tidal energy devices. This agreement not only solidifies both organisations as global leaders in the marine power industry, it demonstrates that they are committed to working together to share lessons learned which is great news for the tidal industry.” Councillor Ian Johnstone, Chair of the Orkney Islands Council's Development and Regeneration Committee said: "From its home in Orkney, EMEC's contribution to the development of the global marine energy industry to date has been invaluable and Orkney Islands Council is delighted to note that this has been recognised and reinforced by the establishment of this international strategic collaboration. I am confident that by sharing their resources and experience, EMEC and FORCE will together accelerate the development and growth of the industry both at home and worldwide." Graeme Harrison, Highlands and Islands Enterprise's Head of Operations for Orkney, said: "Our friends from Atlantic Canada were amongst the first overseas visitors to come to Orkney to see the pioneering work of EMEC for themselves and, from this, close ties have been established over the years. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is pleased to see this exchange now develop into a more formal alliance between EMEC and FORCE. This represents a significant milestone in EMEC's development and the alliance will allow Scotland and Nova Scotia to share knowledge and best practice, and ultimately help the global marine energy sector progress towards commercialisation."
Tidal power dreams abound in Digby Neck area
Studies underway to determine best turbine locations
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Sat, May 7
Talk of electricity feed-in tariffs and tidal currents might elicit yawns in some parts of the world, but not on Long and Brier islands on Digby Neck.
The traditional fishing communities that extend from Westport up to Tiverton are abuzz with the possibilities of generating commercial levels of electricity at two sites, beginning in 2012, from the powerful tides that define Grand and Petit passages.
"These are not the biggest tidal energy projects happening in the Bay of Fundy, but they are significant, especially in terms of socioeconomic impact," Dana Morin, president of Westport-based Fundy Tidal Inc., said Friday.
This summer scientists will release sensors into the powerful tides, in an effort to assess prime locations for tidal turbines. By using sound waves, the sensors will also help scientists determine how whales and porpoises respond to the most powerful tidal currents.
Investors and observers of this exercise in community-driven tidal power generation will also be awaiting word from the provincial regulator on feed-in tariff rates.
Hearings by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board into feed-in tariffs concluded Thursday in Halifax. A decision is expected in six to eight weeks.
The next stage is for eligible groups, including Fundy Tidal, to make submissions under the province’s Renewable Energy Plan.
Morin said a satisfactory rate — what Fundy Tidal would receive in exchange for putting electricity onto the provincial electrical grid — is an essential component of the undertaking.
"Local people and businesses are the shareholders of Fundy Tidal," said Morin.
"There is a huge amount of work on the regulatory side and with the technology. It’ll be worth it when we put our first turbine in the water," he said.
He said the Fundy Tidal projects are not garnering as much media attention as the anticipated 2012 launch of four massive prototype turbines in the Minas Basin area of the Bay of Fundy, but have huge implications for rural communities in Nova Scotia lining the bay, and also across the turbulent waters of the bay in Maine.
Fundy Tidal and Alberta-based New Energy Corp. Inc. recently announced they have partnered to install and operate several tidal turbines in the swift currents of Grand Passage, near Westport.
The Nova Scotia company has also partnered with Ocean Renewable Power Co. of Maine to install one of their tidal power systems in Petit Passage, near Tiverton.
Morin said both projects will develop incrementally, starting with a single unit near the end of 2012 and progressing to an array of multiple devices that satisfies regulators and community stakeholders.
The biggest limitation on the amount of power that can be added to the provincial grid from the Petite and Grand passage locations is deficient power transmission infrastructure, he said.
Westport village commissioner Jim Outhouse said people in the area have worked long and hard to promote Digby County as a research and development hub for the emerging tidal industry.
"We see this new industry as a means to return to more prosperous days and attract new families, business and jobs to the region," he said in a press release on the project.
( bpower@herald.ca)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1242177.html
First Nova Scotia Power and its tidal partner, OpenHydro, had trouble getting their broken experimental turbine off the ocean floor, now they are having trouble getting it home.
The badly damaged $10-million turbine has been sitting out recent bad weather at Atlantic Towing Ltd.’s facility in Saint John Harbour and will remain there until weather conditions improve enough to move it to Nova Scotia, the utility’s spokeswoman Patty Faith said earlier this week.
In the coming days, Nova Scotia Power will be talking to OpenHydro officials and examining weather forecasts in order to determine when the turbine will return to Dartmouth, she said.
In early December, OpenHydro announced it had lifted the 40-tonne turbine and its 400-tonne base from its spot the Bay of Fundy floor, about 19 kilometres from Parrsboro.
Upon its retrieval, it was discovered that all 12 blades had broken off the turbine.
The successful retrieval came a month after a failed attempt.
The turbine was supposed to make its way to Cherubini Metal Works in Dartmouth by the end of December, but storms caused it to be diverted to Saint John.
Once the turbine does arrive at Cherubini, it will undergo a forensic analysis by OpenHydro officials who want to find out why the 12 blades broke off.
Cherubini fabricated the turbine’s base in 2009 for $1.9 million.
The one-megawatt tidal turbine, manufactured in Ireland by OpenHydro, was deployed in the Bay of Fundy in November 2009.
In March, The Chronicle Herald was the first to report that the utility lost contact with the turbine seven days after it was launched because sensors attached to it malfunctioned. The sensors were to collect data about potential electrical production and environmental impact.
In June, OpenHydro and Nova Scotia Power announced they had discovered that two blades, made from blends of plastic and glass, had broken off the turbine. These malfunctions forced the partners to pull the device out of the water a year ahead of schedule.
Last month, James Ives, OpenHydro’s president, said it will be months before a decision is made to fix the turbine or replace it with a new one. He suggested the blades may have popped out because the company may have underestimated the force of the bay’s tidal currents.
Ives refused to reveal how much the recovery of the turbine cost, but he did say that Nova Scotia Power customers would not be paying the tab.
Despite the setbacks, both companies remain optimistic that the project will move forward.
The turbine cost $10 million to build. Nova Scotia Power investing the lion’s share while $4.6 million came from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a non-profit green energy foundation with offices in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
Two other groups, Minas Basin Pulp and Power and its partner Marine Current Turbines Ltd. of Bristol, England, and Alstom Hydro of France and its partner Clean Current Power Systems Inc. of Vancouver, plan to deploy test turbines in the Bay of Fundy in 2012.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1220511.html
VERDANT MAKES FUNDY BID
COMPANY IS ONE OF FIVE TO SUBMIT PLANS TO DEVELOP A TIDAL TURBINE
Verdant Power hopes its tidal turbine experiment in New York’s East River will help it win a coveted spot for a tougher project on the floor of the Bay of Fundy.
The U.S. and Canadian renewable energy company is one of five firms that have submitted proposals to the Nova Scotia government to become the fourth tidal turbine developer in the bay.
"We’ve been studying the Bay of Fundy, and everything we are doing in East River is preparing us to have technology to work in the Bay of Fundy," Trey Taylor, co-founder and president of Verdant Power, said in a telephone interview Thursday from Washington, D.C.
Nova Scotia’s Energy Department is expected to make a decision on the successful candidate later this month after reviewing the applications.
Verdant Power of New York and Burlington, Ont., is shortlisted along with British engine and power systems giant Rolls-Royce Ltd., General Power Engineering Associates Inc. of Sarasota, Fla., Atlantis Resources Corp. of London, England, and Champlain Tidal Energy Corp. Ltd.
Verdant believes its experience and technology, using a sixth-generation turbine resembling an underwater wind turbine, would lead to success in the harsh waters of the Bay of Fundy.
"It’s a very tough environment but not insurmountable," Taylor said.
Verdant filed an application this week with U.S. energy regulators to install up to 30 tidal turbines in the East River in New York to form the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project.
Should the project receive approval, it would be one of the first tidal power operations in the U.S. Electricity generated from it would power large supermarkets and parking garages in Manhattan, Taylor said.
Verdant proposes to install 30 turbines with blades five metres in diameter on 10 tri-frames — three turbines per tri-frame — in water depths of about nine metres in the East River. The 30 turbines would generate about one megawatt of electricity."We want to ensure we do it right by starting smaller and then start scaling up for a larger system to be tested," Taylor said.
Verdant plans to design a new turbine with 11-metre composite blades for the Bay of Fundy, using one to three turbines per tri-frame, to generate 1.5 to three megawatts of electricity. Taylor said Verdant would deploy its turbines no later than 2014.
Despite the recent setback in the Bay of Fundy, Taylor said he is not discouraged.
Nova Scotia Power and its technology partner, OpenHydro of Dublin, Ireland, had to haul their massive $10-million test turbine out of the water last month to find out why all 12 plastic-and-glass blades snapped off.
The companies lost computer communication with the turbine only seven days after it was lowered to the floor of the Minas Passage about 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro in November 2009.
Taylor said he was saddened to learn that OpenHydro’s experimental turbine had lost its blades and that it was "everyone’s baptism to the business."
In addition to the Nova Scotia Power/OpenHydro effort, two other groups plan to deploy test turbines in the Bay of Fundy in 2012. They are Minas Basin Pulp and Power of Hantsport and its partner Marine Current Turbines Ltd. of Bristol, England, and Alstom Hydro of France and its partner Clean Current Power Systems Inc. of Vancouver.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1220574.html
Turbine to be commercialized in Bay of Fundy
Swiss firm, B.C. partner target 2012 for 13- by 20-metre tidal generator
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Wed, Dec 8 - 4:55 AM
International power giant Alstom revealed its plans to commercialize its industrial-scale Beluga 9 tidal energy turbine in the Bay of Fundy in 2012. The Beluga 9 is intended for "very powerful currents" and will be the company’s first tidal turbine generator, the firm announced Tuesday. The underwater turbine will be 13 metres in diameter and 20 metres high, the height of a six-storey building. "Now, we are firmly establishing ourselves in the tidal stream power business," Michelle Stein, Alstom’s spokeswoman, said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Montreal.
Clean Current Power Systems of Vancouver, B.C., was originally awarded a berth site in the Bay of Fundy and proposed testing its Mark III turbine. Then in 2009, Alstom Hydro of Switzerland partnered with Clean Current and has been working on a redesign of the original proposal. "So what we’ve done is we’re building on the technology and the experience Clean Current had on their initial demonstrator. Now we are preparing our commercial demonstrator to be tested in the Bay of Fundy," she said. She said the Beluga 9 prototype is a one-megawatt unit being tested at Alstom’s facilities in Europe and in Quebec. "We’re conducting an extensive series of tests before deploying the turbine at sea," she said.
Alstom will join two other developers — Nova Scotia Power and Minas Basin Pulp and Power of Hantsport — that have berths for turbines on the Bay of Fundy floor.
Nova Scotia Power and its partner, OpenHydro of Dublin, Ireland, have experienced the trials and tribulations of developing working tidal turbines. Most recently, OpenHydro failed to retrieve its damaged turbine from the floor of the Minas Passage for an inspection, and has postponed the recovery until December. Patty Faith, Nova Scotia Power spokeswoman, said the companies may go back again next week and try and recover the turbine, depending on the weather. "It is the last window of opportunity until spring," she said Tuesday. The two companies deployed a $10-million turbine in the Minas Passage about 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro last November. They discovered that two blades — made from blends of plastic and glass — on the 400-tonne experimental turbine had broken off in May. The malfunction is forcing the company to pull the device out of the water a year ahead of schedule. "We feel our technology is different. However, we will continue to monitor the experience of those companies and obviously take lessons learned and see what we can do to ensure the success of our product," said Stein of Alstom. Minas Basin Pulp and Power and its partner, Marine Current Turbines Ltd. of Bristol, England, will join Alstom and deploy their turbine in 2012.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1216027.html
Harnessing nature's power
Published on December 7th, 2010
AMHERST - Harnessing the world's most powerful tides as a source of energy is something too good to pass up, says the co-founder and presdient of one of the companies vying to be a partner in the Fundy tidal project. "We are very excited about this project given the Canadian reputation for hydro-power. There's a huge opportunity here for us," said Trey Taylor. Verdant Power Canada is one of five companies to respond to a provincial Department of Energy call for expressions of interest in providing tidal power from the Bay of Fundy with Rolls-Royce Ltd., Champlain Tidal Energy Ltd., General Power Engineering Associates Inc. and Atlantis Resources Group being the others.
Nova Scotia Power, Alstrom and Minas Basin Pulp and Power of Hantsport are already involved in the Fundy tidal project. "Here's the challenge all of us face, designing something that will be cost-effective in that robust environment," he said. "It's a pretty hairy environment getting these things in and out of the water." Taylor is well aware of the problems already being faced by Open Hydro in having the blades break on its test turbine. He said a similar thing happened to Verdant when it placed its first turbines in the East River near New York City. Verdant presently has other projects in New York City and in the St. Lawrence River near Cornwall, Ont.
http://www.amherstdaily.com/News/Local/2010-12-07/article-2024495/Harnessing-natures-power/1
European tidal firms eye Fundy
The prospect of harnessing the Bay of Fundy tides to generate electricity has caught the attention of two European developers of tidal power, The Chronicle Herald has learned.
Hammerfest Strom of Norway and Voith Hydro of Germany are among five companies that have expressed interest to the provincial government, a source told this newspaper.
Hammerfest Strom is already in a joint venture with ScottishPower Renewables to install a one-megawatt pre-commercial turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre in the Orkney Islands. The turbine is expected to be fully operational next year.
Voith Hydro Ocean Current Technologies is installing a one-megawatt turbine off the Scottish coast, project developers reported. The turbine is to commence a two-year trial at the European Marine Energy Centre next year.
The European companies’ interest in the Bay of Fundy tides, the highest in the world, is exciting news, an industry watcher says.
"It would mean the Bay of Fundy is really attracting the attention of the leaders in large-scale tidal," said Chris Campbell, executive director of the Ocean Renewable Energy Group of Nanaimo, B.C.
"That’s the opportunity that Nova Scotia is right on the cusp . . . this being a science experiment and turning it into a business," he said.
Hammerfest Strom executives are coming to Nova Scotia next month and will meet with officials from the government and the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy to look at the medium- to long-term possibilities in Nova Scotia, Campbell said.
"The real issue now (is) what are the real opportunities going to be beyond putting a single machine in the Minas Passage (Bay of Fundy)?" he said. "The industry needs to see they’ve got a place that they can start to get experience with arrays of these machines. Pilot power plants as opposed to machine demonstrations. That’s what everyone is looking at at this point."
Campbell will be in Halifax on Oct. 12 to attend a government meeting on drafting a commercialization strategy for tidal power in Nova Scotia.
Energy Department spokeswoman Tracy Barron would only confirm that the government received notice from five companies that they are interested. She would not identify the companies.
She said the department will soon issue a formal call for more detailed proposals.
Last week, the Atlantic Resources Corp. of the U.K. said it is interested in the tidal energy potential of the Bay of Fundy and is waiting for the government to issue its request for proposals.
A $10-million turbine that Nova Scotia Power and partner OpenHydro of Ireland lowered into the Minas Passage, about 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro, last November was damaged and will be hauled out of the water next month.
Nova Scotia Power discovered that two blades, made from blends of plastics and glass, on the 400-tonne experimental turbine broke off in May. The malfunction is forcing the company to pull the device out of the water a year ahead of schedule.
Two other companies, Minas Basin Pulp and Power of Hantsport and Clean Current of British Columbia, have also been chosen to test turbines in the Bay of Fundy but have delayed their projects until 2012.
( jmyrden@herald.ca)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1201853.html
Nova Scotia seeks fourth developer for Bay of Fundy tidal project
The Nova Scotia government is seeking proposals from developers interested in testing ways of harnessing the Bay of Fundy's mighty tides.
The successful developer will join three other companies — Nova Scotia Power, Minas Basin Pulp and Paper and ALTSOM — in a project studying tidal energy turbines in the bay.
The Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy project's test site is in the Minas Passage area of the bay.
Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks says the developer must show that its technology can withstand the "harsh environment" of the bay and have a plan to monitor the effects on the environment.
Sub-sea cables, which are expected to be installed by next summer, will transmit power from the four test sites to the province's electricity grid.
The project is a public-private partnership funded by the provincial and federal governments, Encana Corp., and developers.
The deadline for proposals is Oct. 20.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b4510653
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