The Digby Courier April 1, 2010 Regional www.NovaNewsNow.com 13 Bay’s science opens up with energy projects By Wendy Elliott Dr. David Greenberg of the Bed- through the deep, narrow chan- impacts, but Karsten said the flip his tale to take out the barrier. [email protected] NovaNewsNow.com ford Institute of Oceanography nel, it makes a promising location simulations also indicate up to 2.5 This legend eerily mimics the sug- (BIO) and mathematician Dr. for the generation of electrical GW of power can be extracted gested natural breakthrough, At the Atlantic Geoscience Richard Karsten of Acadia Uni- power using in-stream turbines. with less than a five to six per cent although Shaw acknowledged Society 36th annual colloqui- versity are refining an ocean Karsten’s simulations suggest up change. physical evidence hasn’t been um recently in Greenwich, sci- model to explore how a tidal to 6.9 GW of power could be According to Nova Scotia found. entists presented new results farm of hundreds of turbines extracted; however, the result Energy, 2.5 GW powers over Greenberg noted, with or with- on ocean current modeling, bay could affect water levels. might be an increase in tidal 800,000 homes. The question is out tidal power, the tide ranges in floor mapping, sediment and Research in the 1970s indi- amplitude of over 15 per cent whether and to what extent a five Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy marsh dynamics - all in relation cated solid barrages planned along the entire Gulf of Maine. or six per cent change in tidal are unstable and the sea level to potential impacts of tidal for the Upper Bay of Fundy Greenberg showed images of range would change sedimenta- could rise. power in the Bay of Fundy. would increase tidal high water the Boston airport and the rail- tion and erosion, especially Gordon Fader of Atlantic Research sci- levels in some places and road across the Tantramar around the shores of Minas Basin. Marine Geological Consulting in entist decrease them else- marshes and commented, “peo- The fastest currents are locat- Halifax (formerly with BIO) out- where. ple build too close to the water.” ed in the Minas Passage, a prom- lined his years researching the Given the He believes the tides in the ising location for the implemen- bottom of the Bay of Fundy. strong cur- Minas Basin could experience a tation of additional turbines like Using photos, video stations rents 30 per cent decrease in amplitude the trial models deployed last fall. and multibeam bathymetry, if the maximum amount of power More water flows through Minas which provide a detailed picture is extracted. Such large changes Passage twice a day than all the of the topography of the seafloor could have major rivers of the world com- and water depths; he determined harmful bined carry to the sea daily. the optimal sites for the three tri- environ- The tidal amplitude has been al turbines. This kind of imagery men- changing significantly over the amounts to the underwater tal last 10,000 years (or since the end equivalent of an aerial photo- of the last ice age), Greenberg graph. said. John Shaw of the Geologi- He detailed how the construc- cal Survey of Canada even tion of a subsea transmission suggested the tide range cable will allow current and in Minas Basin future tidal devices to deliver increased suddenly as power directly to the electricity a result of a cata- grid. He would like to see new strophic break research projects examine the through a natural influence of destructive fishing barrier across the techniques, such as bottom drag- Minas Channel ging for scallops, on the stability about 5,000 years of the sediment in the Bay of ago. Fundy and Minas Basin, as well as In one of the on the level of turbulence off Cape Glooscap legends, the Split. Mi’kmaq god asks his Researchers Michael Li of BIO friend, Beaver, to build a and Danika van Proosdij of St dam so he can take a bath. Mary’s University also presented Nova Scotia Power and its tidal technology partner, OpenHydro, successfully deployed the first commercial scale in-stream tidal turbine in the Bay of When Beaver subsequent- their findings on sediment Fundy in November. The one-megawatt commercial scale turbine reached the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) deployment site in the ly won’t remove the dam, dynamics. Minas Passage and is now operational, rotating with the tides, collecting data and producing energy. Submitted Glooscap asks Whale to Figuring out the flow By Andrew Foote where because of the tremendous force of bine are open-centred, resembling a line or in deeper waters. There is also a the tides.” donut with the rotor around the edge. question of how fish will detect and avoid The Bay of Fundy is famous for its tides, Lumley says the provincial govern- “We liked that OpenHydro’s design was the turbines, with the current so fast and likely the largest in the world. ment participated in a California study in simple but robust,” says Jennifer Parker, the water so turbulent. The Nova Scotia government and 2005 that studied potential North Ameri- an official with Nova Scotia Power. “Its “The flow through the centre (of an developers of new tidal power devices can tidal power sites: the Minas Passage open centre allows marine mammals to open centred turbine) is going to be much have been determining how best to take could be the most “potent.” pass through, and it doesn’t have a lot of faster than the flow in front of the blade, advantage of this massive flow of water to After nine companies submitted let- moving or mechanical parts which because the blade acts as a partial barri- generate electricity. ters of interest, the province called for require the use of any lubricants” which er,” she says. In November, the first of three differ- bids and selected three companies could be released into the water. She adds individual fish are likely to be ent companies’ test turbines were put in already testing devices around the world. The Marine Current Turbines design, funnelled through the centre or over the place in the Minas Passage, a narrow area Lumley says a conservative estimate of partnering with local company Minas top; schools of fish may behave different- between Parrsboro and Cape Split, about how much power could be generated out Basin Pulp and Power, works much like a ly. 100 kilometres north of Halifax. of a large-scale tidal project in the bay is wind turbine with two “propellers” Marine Current Turbine’s website says, Matthew Lumley, communications 300 megawatts of electricity - enough to mounted on a stand. since its rotors move one rotation about advisor with Nova Scotia’s energy depart- power 100,000 homes. Environmental considerations are every four seconds, they’re too slow to ment, says an Irish company, OpenHydro, The Minas Passage was chosen important, as there is concern about the harm fish. as well as B.C.’s Clean Current and because of its bottom features, according effect the turbines could have on fish. Most people seem to be excited about Britain’s Marine Current Turbines; are all to Anna Redden, biology professor at “The biggest unknowns regarding the the project, but don’t want to rush, Lum- seeking the prestige that comes with the Acadia University. environment relate to the behaviour and ley says. Bay of Fundy name. “It’s bare, it’s bedrock and it’s a stable safe passage of marine fish and mam- “It really is brand new technology, and “The developers have many different bottom on which to place a gravity base” mals, and whether or not they are likely it’s one step at a time. We spent a lot of reasons for wanting to be in the Bay - one of 400 tons, which can hold turbines in to come into contact with turbines,” Red- time (doing assessments) and, in general, of which is the brand, and to establish place, says Redden. den says. the feedback was ‘thumbs up, we have themselves as meeting some kind of ‘Bay Both the OpenHydro design, which She adds researchers don’t know at this incredible potential, let’s move away of Fundy’ standard,” says Lumley. “If you partnered with Nova Scotia Power for what depth fish in the area swim, or from coal-based energy; but we don’t can make it here, you can make it any- this project, and the Clean Current tur- whether they are moving along the shore- know enough yet - let’s go slowly.’”.