The Canadian Press
Firms hurry to get test projects in water after N.S. government gives OK
By Michael Tutton (CP) – 2 days ago
HALIFAX, N.S. — A tidal power turbine up to 10 metres in diameter will be installed in the Bay of Fundy this fall, as companies begin testing methods of harnessing some of the earth's mightiest water flows.
The Nova Scotia government and the federal Fisheries Department announced environmental approval Tuesday for test projects for three companies to place their turbines in the inner bay, where the world's highest tides rush in and out each day.
There is one small existing tidal power station at the mouth of the Annapolis River, providing sufficient power for 6,000 homes.
However, the test projects would be the first step towards installing multiple, undersea turbines in the bay, with the goal of eventually creating an array of generators to collect a portion of the tidal energy in the inner bay, along the Minas Passage.
The Nova Scotia Power (TSX:EMA) turbine - which looks somewhat like an underwater jet-engine turbine set on a large tripod - will be the first to go in the waters off Parrsboro, with installation plans set for late October.
That will be followed by the installation of a turbine by Clean Current Power Systems Inc., a British Columbia-based firm.
Scott Travers, the president of Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. Ltd., said during a speech in Saint John, N.B., that his firm's turbine is expected to go in the water next summer.
He told the audience, which included the premiers of Canada's eastern provinces and New England governors, that the potential source of energy is immense in an area where the tides fall so dramatically twice a day that vessels are left perched on the mud.
"The shift of the current, and its predictability, you can bank on it," he said.
The three companies are spending a total of $60 million to $70 million to build the test system.
Nova Scotia's Energy Department said the test system will be linked together next year, with the possibility of creating enough energy to power 4,000 homes, or about 3.5 megawatts. Nova Scotia Power said the test system will not be hooked up to province's electrical grid.
Travers said the tidal projects are currently at the "Kitty Hawk stage" of development, comparing them to the earliest days of flying machines, and it will be several years before commercial scale production is achieved - estimated to be enough power for 100,000 homes.
He said results of the test phase would take one year to 18 months, and at that point proposals could go forward for commercial developments, and a new round of environmental assessments.
"The first multi-unit system will be right in our backyard. It's going to put us on the map, and from there it will grow ... and then we target Newfoundland's coast, Prince Edward Island," Travers said.
Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau said the reduction in greenhouse gases would benefit Nova Scotia, which is heavily dependent on coal-fired generators.
But he said the province could close down the test system quickly if there are signs it is damaging the endangered Atlantic salmon or the lobster fishery.
"I have the authority to stop that (project) as simply as walking over and turning off that light switch, and I wouldn't hesitate if the science and adverse effects are there," said Belliveau.
The studies will also include a look at potential impact on plankton, the microscopic plant life that flows through the bay.
In its July submission to the province's Environment Department, the Ecology Action Centre said the impact of undersea tidal projects "have been consistently underestimated, and in some cases, ignored."
A group of inshore fishermen also sent in their concerns to the department, saying plans to eventually put hundreds of turbines in the bay must not proceed.
"To consider putting hundreds of these units out into the Bay of Fundy doesn't make sense to us. It will ruin the fisheries of not only this area, but many others as well," wrote the Heavy Current Fishers Association in a July 17 submission.
"Millions upon millions of fish, of different species, migrate through the northern shore of the Minas Channel and Passage on their way to spawning grounds all around the basin."
Canada has enough tidal energy to power most of the country's homes and the lion's share of it lies in this bay, according to Natural Resources Canada.
Nova Scotia wants 25 per cent of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, and it sees tidal power as a means to get there.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Note from Kathleen: There was a photo of a tide turbine with this article. There does not appear to be any sheild around the blades protecting sea life from damage in and by the turbines
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Energy EFFICIENCY new buzz word
Energy efficiency should get as much attention as green power
09/17/2009
from the Kennebec Journal
from Gordon Weil
Everybody seems to be agog about green power.
It will reduce dependence on polluting electric power, create thousands of new jobs and even make us independent of foreign oil and natural gas. At least, that's what we are promised.
Green power is a good idea, but it is oversold.
Let's look at some of the myths about green power.
1. Green power is such a good idea that it is beyond controversy.
There has never been an energy resource without opponents.
Nuclear power scares people. Hydro power prevents fish passage. Wind power kills birds, is unsightly and makes noise. Tidal power interferes with commercial fishing. Oil-fired power makes us too dependent on imports. Natural gas needs some liquefied imports, but the terminals are too large, and the tankers could be blown up. We don't have enough sun to waste time with solar power.
That's what opponents say. It makes you wonder what source is acceptable to people who want the lights to go on, computers to work and industry to provide jobs.
Green power will happen, but not without a fight with someone.
2. Green power will reduce the cost of electricity, because it is renewable and local.
Green power will raise the cost of electricity.
New transmission lines need to be built to allow wind and tidal power to get to the grid. Developers want to roll the transmission costs into everybody's electric rates. Otherwise, the consumers of green power will have to pay.
Given the variations in wind and tidal power, they require conventional and more reliable backup power, and that will add to the cost.
Green power developers receive the same rate paid to the most expensive resource used to supply even the smallest part of the market. Even if they have no fuel cost, they will be paid as if they were using natural gas.
So every time legislators require more green power, they also are raising electric rates.
3. Green power will be a boon to the economy.
About a half dozen places in the United States, including Maine, have been told they are "the Saudi Arabia of wind."
The Saudi princes got rich from oil, so we ought to get rich from wind, right? Of course, the princes own the oil and we don't own the wind.
Federal taxpayer-financed green power projects will create jobs. The timing is good as a way to combat the recession. But the impact will only be relatively short-term.
Without subsidies, green power will be less attractive. And only a handful of people are needed to operate green power facilities after they are built.
4. Green power will transform our energy supply mix.
No credible observer believes that wind, solar and tidal power together will amount to even 10 percent of our total energy supply. There is simply not enough wind or other resource opportunities.
Meanwhile, hydro power, the classic American green resource, is in decline as dams are being torn down to increase fish passage.
New hydro power seems to be out of the question.
Probably the only non-fossil fuel energy resource that could cover a substantial part of our needs is nuclear power, which has a limited future, because of failure to agree on how to dispose of radioactive waste.
Does all of this mean that green power is not worth the effort?
On the contrary, green power can help us deal with the pressing problem of global warming by reducing emissions. This is a worthwhile public objective, and it is worth paying for. That is just what will happen as green power is increasingly used.
We should not overlook a much less dramatic approach to making the country more energy independent and reducing emissions. It can have a major impact.
It is the more efficient use of energy. When we use less or can match our energy use to times when electricity supplies are readily available, we can avoid building new power plants and power lines.
People don't want to wash clothes at 3 a.m. Fortunately, we won't have to go such extremes, thanks to "smart grid."
It is the remote control of power usage so that it has almost no discernable negative effect on human activities.
Smart grid and other efficiency measures can deliver everything that green power offers with less transmission cost. They leave more green in our pockets.
Legislators and regulators need to focus now as much on promoting and funding less glamorous energy efficiency as they do on green power.
Gordon L. Weil, a weekly columnist for this newspaper, is an author, publisher, consultant and former international organization, U.S. and Maine government official.
09/17/2009
from the Kennebec Journal
from Gordon Weil
Everybody seems to be agog about green power.
It will reduce dependence on polluting electric power, create thousands of new jobs and even make us independent of foreign oil and natural gas. At least, that's what we are promised.
Green power is a good idea, but it is oversold.
Let's look at some of the myths about green power.
1. Green power is such a good idea that it is beyond controversy.
There has never been an energy resource without opponents.
Nuclear power scares people. Hydro power prevents fish passage. Wind power kills birds, is unsightly and makes noise. Tidal power interferes with commercial fishing. Oil-fired power makes us too dependent on imports. Natural gas needs some liquefied imports, but the terminals are too large, and the tankers could be blown up. We don't have enough sun to waste time with solar power.
That's what opponents say. It makes you wonder what source is acceptable to people who want the lights to go on, computers to work and industry to provide jobs.
Green power will happen, but not without a fight with someone.
2. Green power will reduce the cost of electricity, because it is renewable and local.
Green power will raise the cost of electricity.
New transmission lines need to be built to allow wind and tidal power to get to the grid. Developers want to roll the transmission costs into everybody's electric rates. Otherwise, the consumers of green power will have to pay.
Given the variations in wind and tidal power, they require conventional and more reliable backup power, and that will add to the cost.
Green power developers receive the same rate paid to the most expensive resource used to supply even the smallest part of the market. Even if they have no fuel cost, they will be paid as if they were using natural gas.
So every time legislators require more green power, they also are raising electric rates.
3. Green power will be a boon to the economy.
About a half dozen places in the United States, including Maine, have been told they are "the Saudi Arabia of wind."
The Saudi princes got rich from oil, so we ought to get rich from wind, right? Of course, the princes own the oil and we don't own the wind.
Federal taxpayer-financed green power projects will create jobs. The timing is good as a way to combat the recession. But the impact will only be relatively short-term.
Without subsidies, green power will be less attractive. And only a handful of people are needed to operate green power facilities after they are built.
4. Green power will transform our energy supply mix.
No credible observer believes that wind, solar and tidal power together will amount to even 10 percent of our total energy supply. There is simply not enough wind or other resource opportunities.
Meanwhile, hydro power, the classic American green resource, is in decline as dams are being torn down to increase fish passage.
New hydro power seems to be out of the question.
Probably the only non-fossil fuel energy resource that could cover a substantial part of our needs is nuclear power, which has a limited future, because of failure to agree on how to dispose of radioactive waste.
Does all of this mean that green power is not worth the effort?
On the contrary, green power can help us deal with the pressing problem of global warming by reducing emissions. This is a worthwhile public objective, and it is worth paying for. That is just what will happen as green power is increasingly used.
We should not overlook a much less dramatic approach to making the country more energy independent and reducing emissions. It can have a major impact.
It is the more efficient use of energy. When we use less or can match our energy use to times when electricity supplies are readily available, we can avoid building new power plants and power lines.
People don't want to wash clothes at 3 a.m. Fortunately, we won't have to go such extremes, thanks to "smart grid."
It is the remote control of power usage so that it has almost no discernable negative effect on human activities.
Smart grid and other efficiency measures can deliver everything that green power offers with less transmission cost. They leave more green in our pockets.
Legislators and regulators need to focus now as much on promoting and funding less glamorous energy efficiency as they do on green power.
Gordon L. Weil, a weekly columnist for this newspaper, is an author, publisher, consultant and former international organization, U.S. and Maine government official.
Live Earth: Mobs and Movies
From Live Earth
Sept. 21 Global 'Wake-Up Call'
On Monday September 21, Avaaz.org and the tcktcktck campaign are organizing flash mobs around the world to press our leaders to take action on the climate.
Sign up to join one of 1,000+ climate "wake-up calls" or register an event near you. It's simple for everyone involved!
Click here for more info.
3 New Environmental Movies!
Some excellent films about the climate crisis are opening in theaters this month:
The Age of Stupid -- An old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching 'archive' footage from 2008, asks: why didn't we stop climate change while we had the chance?
No Impact Man chronicles the real-life adventures of the Beavan family striving to drastically reduce their carbon footprint and leave no impact on the environment while living in Manhattan.
Crude -- The inside story of the controversial "Amazon Chernobyl" environmental
Sept. 21 Global 'Wake-Up Call'
On Monday September 21, Avaaz.org and the tcktcktck campaign are organizing flash mobs around the world to press our leaders to take action on the climate.
Sign up to join one of 1,000+ climate "wake-up calls" or register an event near you. It's simple for everyone involved!
Click here for more info.
3 New Environmental Movies!
Some excellent films about the climate crisis are opening in theaters this month:
The Age of Stupid -- An old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching 'archive' footage from 2008, asks: why didn't we stop climate change while we had the chance?
No Impact Man chronicles the real-life adventures of the Beavan family striving to drastically reduce their carbon footprint and leave no impact on the environment while living in Manhattan.
Crude -- The inside story of the controversial "Amazon Chernobyl" environmental
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