Medical personnel filling in at Digby Neck health centre
The Chronicle Herald
Fri. Jan 15 - 4:46 AM
Starting Monday through to the end of February, the Islands Health Centre will be open 27 of a possible 30 days, says SouthWest Heath.
On more than half of those days, a doctor will be in the clinic working with a nurse practitioner and each will see patients, stated a news release.
SouthWest Health continues to "vigorously pursue a permanent solution" to the lack of a full-time nurse practitioner for the clinic, located on Long Island at the tip of Digby Neck.
Nurse practitioner Karen Snider was fired by the district health authority in October. Many residents said she was let go after she wrote an article in a local newsletter, suggesting the need for a full-time office clerk in a health clinic on the island.
Residents were told at a public meeting an apology would have to be signed by Ms. Snider before further talks could take place to rehire the well-liked nurse.
The health authority said earlier that care provided by the nurse practitioner was never an issue.
Beginning next week, a temporary nurse practitioner and a doctor will see patients every Thursday and Friday, the release said.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wind on the Cape:Nantucket Battle
From the Barnstable Patriot
Blogger's Note: Please note in this article a mention that the turbines can be painted a colour which *may* (imv) blend in with the landscape
Decision on wind farm by April
Written by Edward F. Maroney
January 15, 2010
Parties remain leagues apart
Wearing two hats, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar set April as the deadline for his final decision on the Cape Wind project.
Following a series of consultations with supporters and opponents in Washington Jan. 13, Salazar told reporters that there are “two fundamentally important national priorities that are at stake here.”
There is President Obama’s directive to him to “move forward with the new energy frontier” of renewables, Salazar said, a priority that he must balance with his role as chief historic preservation officer of the country.
The secretary said he will accept public comment through Feb. 12. By March 1, he will decide whether to terminate the consultation and will move toward a formal decision in April, unless the parties have achieved a memorandum of agreement that addresses adverse impacts and provides mitigation.
“I’m not sure that can be accomplished,” Salazar said of the parties coming together. “There is a tremendous amount of passion and history about this issue.”
As for his own leanings, the secretary said, “The possibility remains that I will approve the application in the same way the possibility remains I will deny the application.”
Salazar tried also to quell concerns that the fate of Cape Wind would set the course for all other American offshore projects. He said he didn’t think Cape Wind alone would define the development of wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf, later noting the “already tremendous investment with respect to wind energy across the county.”
Barnstable Weighs In
Charles McLaughlin, the assistant town attorney who represented Barnstable at the meetings, said the town “put something on the table that has not been public up to now, though we’ve been working on it for ages.”
The proposal involves moving the wind farm to an area south of Tuckernuck Island. “We would try to run the project through the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative or a like entity that could be formed and utilize a joint venture with Cape Wind,” McLaughlin said in a telephone interview.
Under the proposal, the attorney said, the company could “utilize the public funding processes of bonding and loans from rural utility services or otherwise to bring the capital costs down from Wall Street return rates of 15 to 20 percent to about 4 percent.”
McLaughlin said all tax benefits would pass over to Cape Wind. Meanwhile, the Cooperative “would purchase all power at a dramatically reduced price ‘cause they don’t have all this debt service. We would distribute all the electricity to municipalities in the Commonwealth. Utilizing the Green Communities and metering acts, we would bring the price down because of the savings associated with that. We could effectuate over the 20-year life of the project over $1 billion in savings to Massachusetts municipalities in their electric bills.”
If Cape Wind chooses not to participate, McLaughlin said, “we’re looking at three to five years of litigation. If they remain intransigent, they can have their permit this year but not their project otherwise.”
At his press conference, Salazar said moving the project to Tuckernuck Island, south of Nantucket, “would require a new process to begin. Who knows how long it would take to get to a final determination?”
Supporters Spurn Option
During a teleconference held by project supporters, Barbara Hill, executive director of Clean Power Now, a stalwart backer of the Nantucket Sound location, dismissed the alternative site as “potentially economically infeasible” and also “potentially environmentally more damaging.”
Sue Reed of the Conservation Law Foundation said that “the realm of mitigation must be limited to measures associated with the current location.”
After praising Salazar for becoming “personally engaged” in bringing “this long nine-year regulatory process to a conclusion,” Cape Wind President Jim Gordon laid out the details of a mitigation package that has been on the table for months.
The number of wind turbines has been reduced from 170 to 130, he said, and their paint color changed to one that will blend into the horizon. The array has been reconfigured to avoid sensitive archaeological sites, he said, and the company “has proposed a compensatory program where we would put money on the table that could be used for historic preservation.”
Gordon said it’s unfortunate the other parties have not responded. He added that a representative of state Energy and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles “came to the conclusion that the other site opponents are recommending is environmentally inferior and technically and economically inferior.”
The developer cited polls showing that 86 percent of Massachusetts citizens favor building the project in Nantucket Sound, and that the wind farm has the support of environmental and health advocates. The project, he said, “has passed the environmental hurdles, and the public has an understanding of climate change, the need for new jobs… This is why we have such great support for the project.”
Touting Tuckernuck
During a subsequent teleconference, Audra Parker, CEO of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, defended the Tuckernuck site as offering “sufficient depth and water area equal in scope to Nantucket Sound,” and as “far superior” in minimizing impacts on tribal and historic sites.
Parker said the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line, both of which operate ferries to the Islands, have “expressed extreme opposition to Horseshoe Shoal [but] are supportive of the move to south of Tuckernuck. The three Cape and Islands airports also support the change, she said.
Salazar is “wrong” about having to begin the entire review process again for the Tuckernuck location, Parker declared. “It’s a very different situation when the site is already included in the federal government’s review [as an alternative]. He can’t on one side say we have a completed review and not done a complete job of looking at alternatives.”
Parker indicated there is no acceptable mitigation plan for the Horseshoe Shoal location. “Nantucket Sound has to be off limits for industrial development,” she said.
“You know how we feel about Nantucket Sound,” Aquinnah Wampanoag historic preservation officer Bettina Washington said. “You know we do not accept anything in the Sound…” She added that she could not make a commitment to the Tuckernuck site without studying its resources if it emerges as a viable option.
Washington and Aquinnah tribal chair Cheryl Andrews-Maltais made it clear that, as the latter put it, “no amount of money” as mitigation would win their support for the Nantucket Sound site. “Our culture… is not for sale,” she said.
Blogger's Note: Please note in this article a mention that the turbines can be painted a colour which *may* (imv) blend in with the landscape
Decision on wind farm by April
Written by Edward F. Maroney
January 15, 2010
Parties remain leagues apart
Wearing two hats, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar set April as the deadline for his final decision on the Cape Wind project.
Following a series of consultations with supporters and opponents in Washington Jan. 13, Salazar told reporters that there are “two fundamentally important national priorities that are at stake here.”
There is President Obama’s directive to him to “move forward with the new energy frontier” of renewables, Salazar said, a priority that he must balance with his role as chief historic preservation officer of the country.
The secretary said he will accept public comment through Feb. 12. By March 1, he will decide whether to terminate the consultation and will move toward a formal decision in April, unless the parties have achieved a memorandum of agreement that addresses adverse impacts and provides mitigation.
“I’m not sure that can be accomplished,” Salazar said of the parties coming together. “There is a tremendous amount of passion and history about this issue.”
As for his own leanings, the secretary said, “The possibility remains that I will approve the application in the same way the possibility remains I will deny the application.”
Salazar tried also to quell concerns that the fate of Cape Wind would set the course for all other American offshore projects. He said he didn’t think Cape Wind alone would define the development of wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf, later noting the “already tremendous investment with respect to wind energy across the county.”
Barnstable Weighs In
Charles McLaughlin, the assistant town attorney who represented Barnstable at the meetings, said the town “put something on the table that has not been public up to now, though we’ve been working on it for ages.”
The proposal involves moving the wind farm to an area south of Tuckernuck Island. “We would try to run the project through the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative or a like entity that could be formed and utilize a joint venture with Cape Wind,” McLaughlin said in a telephone interview.
Under the proposal, the attorney said, the company could “utilize the public funding processes of bonding and loans from rural utility services or otherwise to bring the capital costs down from Wall Street return rates of 15 to 20 percent to about 4 percent.”
McLaughlin said all tax benefits would pass over to Cape Wind. Meanwhile, the Cooperative “would purchase all power at a dramatically reduced price ‘cause they don’t have all this debt service. We would distribute all the electricity to municipalities in the Commonwealth. Utilizing the Green Communities and metering acts, we would bring the price down because of the savings associated with that. We could effectuate over the 20-year life of the project over $1 billion in savings to Massachusetts municipalities in their electric bills.”
If Cape Wind chooses not to participate, McLaughlin said, “we’re looking at three to five years of litigation. If they remain intransigent, they can have their permit this year but not their project otherwise.”
At his press conference, Salazar said moving the project to Tuckernuck Island, south of Nantucket, “would require a new process to begin. Who knows how long it would take to get to a final determination?”
Supporters Spurn Option
During a teleconference held by project supporters, Barbara Hill, executive director of Clean Power Now, a stalwart backer of the Nantucket Sound location, dismissed the alternative site as “potentially economically infeasible” and also “potentially environmentally more damaging.”
Sue Reed of the Conservation Law Foundation said that “the realm of mitigation must be limited to measures associated with the current location.”
After praising Salazar for becoming “personally engaged” in bringing “this long nine-year regulatory process to a conclusion,” Cape Wind President Jim Gordon laid out the details of a mitigation package that has been on the table for months.
The number of wind turbines has been reduced from 170 to 130, he said, and their paint color changed to one that will blend into the horizon. The array has been reconfigured to avoid sensitive archaeological sites, he said, and the company “has proposed a compensatory program where we would put money on the table that could be used for historic preservation.”
Gordon said it’s unfortunate the other parties have not responded. He added that a representative of state Energy and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles “came to the conclusion that the other site opponents are recommending is environmentally inferior and technically and economically inferior.”
The developer cited polls showing that 86 percent of Massachusetts citizens favor building the project in Nantucket Sound, and that the wind farm has the support of environmental and health advocates. The project, he said, “has passed the environmental hurdles, and the public has an understanding of climate change, the need for new jobs… This is why we have such great support for the project.”
Touting Tuckernuck
During a subsequent teleconference, Audra Parker, CEO of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, defended the Tuckernuck site as offering “sufficient depth and water area equal in scope to Nantucket Sound,” and as “far superior” in minimizing impacts on tribal and historic sites.
Parker said the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line, both of which operate ferries to the Islands, have “expressed extreme opposition to Horseshoe Shoal [but] are supportive of the move to south of Tuckernuck. The three Cape and Islands airports also support the change, she said.
Salazar is “wrong” about having to begin the entire review process again for the Tuckernuck location, Parker declared. “It’s a very different situation when the site is already included in the federal government’s review [as an alternative]. He can’t on one side say we have a completed review and not done a complete job of looking at alternatives.”
Parker indicated there is no acceptable mitigation plan for the Horseshoe Shoal location. “Nantucket Sound has to be off limits for industrial development,” she said.
“You know how we feel about Nantucket Sound,” Aquinnah Wampanoag historic preservation officer Bettina Washington said. “You know we do not accept anything in the Sound…” She added that she could not make a commitment to the Tuckernuck site without studying its resources if it emerges as a viable option.
Washington and Aquinnah tribal chair Cheryl Andrews-Maltais made it clear that, as the latter put it, “no amount of money” as mitigation would win their support for the Nantucket Sound site. “Our culture… is not for sale,” she said.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Grab Your Moment to Add Your Input
From Nova News Now
Progressive Conservative leader Karen Casey is will be in Digby today and tomorrow morning during a three-day visit to Digby, Annapolis and Kings counties.
The tour is part of Casey’s commitment to visit all 52 of Nova Scotia’s constituencies.
Casey plans to meet with local residents, as well as business and industry leaders during the tour.
Casey is due to visit the Digby ferry terminal at 2:45 p.m., and will meet with area municipal officials at 4 p.m.
A supper hour meeting in planned with members of the Digby and Area Board of Trade, beginning at 5:15 p.m.
“The feedback from the communities I toured in 2009 was thoughtful and insightful and I know that our party will benefit from it,” said Casey. “I’m looking forward to hearing from more Nova Scotians in 2010 as I continue across our province.”
A meeting with Bear River Board of Trade is set for Friday at 8:45 a.m, before Casey heads up the Valley for meetings in Greenwood and Bridgetown.
Progressive Conservative leader Karen Casey is will be in Digby today and tomorrow morning during a three-day visit to Digby, Annapolis and Kings counties.
The tour is part of Casey’s commitment to visit all 52 of Nova Scotia’s constituencies.
Casey plans to meet with local residents, as well as business and industry leaders during the tour.
Casey is due to visit the Digby ferry terminal at 2:45 p.m., and will meet with area municipal officials at 4 p.m.
A supper hour meeting in planned with members of the Digby and Area Board of Trade, beginning at 5:15 p.m.
“The feedback from the communities I toured in 2009 was thoughtful and insightful and I know that our party will benefit from it,” said Casey. “I’m looking forward to hearing from more Nova Scotians in 2010 as I continue across our province.”
A meeting with Bear River Board of Trade is set for Friday at 8:45 a.m, before Casey heads up the Valley for meetings in Greenwood and Bridgetown.
NB Power vs Tidal Power?
From the N.B. Business Journal
TRENTON, N.S. - Scott Travers envisions a day when enough electricity can be drawn from the Bay of Fundy tides to power every household and industry in Nova Scotia.
Quentin Casey/For the Telegraph-Journal Scott Travers, president and COO of the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. Ltd., says he is worried the sale of NB Power could box future tidal electricity projects out of the Maritime power grid. Or perhaps all that power - pulled via turbines from the chilly bay - could be shipped south to help satisfy the needs of power-hungry New England.
Though eager and optimistic, Travers, the lead developer of Nova Scotia's tidal power test site, admits there are potential snags.
Chief among them: the possibility that Hydro-Québec's purchase of NB Power could box Nova Scotia energy producers out of the Maritime power grid.
"We have deep concern about that prospect," Travers said in an interview.
"We either have to have our own dedicated system into the New England market, or be sure we can get it through New Brunswick," he continued. "We're really concerned about that - getting boxed out of the transmission system. All Nova Scotians should be worried about that."
The Graham government has attempted to ease similar concerns expressed by regional premiers, claiming the rules for accessing the grid won't change with NB Power's sale.
At risk for Travers is the mountain of effort already expended in trying to prove the value of Bay of Fundy tidal power.
An engineer by training, Travers is president and chief operating officer of the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. Ltd., which is heading the tidal power testing on the Nova Scotia side of the bay.
Located in the Minas Passage, the project will mark the first Canadian deployment of commercial-scale tidal turbines.
The idea is to prove that tidal power can be successfully drawn from the bay, home of the world's most powerful tides.
Three groups are set to test different tidal technologies in the Minas Passage.
Nova Scotia Power and its partner, OpenHydro, an Irish tidal technology firm, recently lowered their massive unit in the water. Clean Current Power Systems Inc., a Vancouver-based company, plans to install its turbine this spring.
Travers said his company's turbine, produced by U.K.-based Marine Current Turbines, should be in the water within two years.
The unit resembles a submersible wind turbine, with propellers that spin when the tide rushes by. The U.K. firm planted a similar unit in Northern Ireland in 2008 - the world's first commercial-scale turbine.
But not only is Minas Basin Pulp and Power placing one of the three Bay of Fundy test turbines, it is also overseeing the overall testing effort.
From laying electrical cable to securing the environmental permitting, the fourth-generation, privately-owned milling company is leading the effort to harness the bay's powerful tides.
If successful, Travers says those efforts could be lucrative.
He estimates that 2,000 megawatts could be drawn from the bay within five or 10 years - enough to power all the homes and industry in Nova Scotia.
"It's 100 per cent green, renewable and predictable," Travers said at a recent federal energy announcement. "It's far better than fossil fuel-driven energy."
Despite those advantages, however, tidal power is not without its sceptics.
Those include Premier Shawn Graham, who says it is unproven, particularly in terms of the cost to ratepayers.
Travers doesn't dispute that claim, but says it's no reason to abandon the idea of tidal power.
"That's true. In the initial stages it won't be competitive with other power sources," he said.
"We'll learn how to bring the price down. Wind energy was dreadfully expensive at first, but we didn't stop because we knew it had a future," he continued, noting that future carbon credits and green energy incentives could bring the cost of tidal power down.
"What we're taking here are baby steps, but big baby steps. I'm looking forward to the next 10 years."
TRENTON, N.S. - Scott Travers envisions a day when enough electricity can be drawn from the Bay of Fundy tides to power every household and industry in Nova Scotia.
Quentin Casey/For the Telegraph-Journal Scott Travers, president and COO of the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. Ltd., says he is worried the sale of NB Power could box future tidal electricity projects out of the Maritime power grid. Or perhaps all that power - pulled via turbines from the chilly bay - could be shipped south to help satisfy the needs of power-hungry New England.
Though eager and optimistic, Travers, the lead developer of Nova Scotia's tidal power test site, admits there are potential snags.
Chief among them: the possibility that Hydro-Québec's purchase of NB Power could box Nova Scotia energy producers out of the Maritime power grid.
"We have deep concern about that prospect," Travers said in an interview.
"We either have to have our own dedicated system into the New England market, or be sure we can get it through New Brunswick," he continued. "We're really concerned about that - getting boxed out of the transmission system. All Nova Scotians should be worried about that."
The Graham government has attempted to ease similar concerns expressed by regional premiers, claiming the rules for accessing the grid won't change with NB Power's sale.
At risk for Travers is the mountain of effort already expended in trying to prove the value of Bay of Fundy tidal power.
An engineer by training, Travers is president and chief operating officer of the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. Ltd., which is heading the tidal power testing on the Nova Scotia side of the bay.
Located in the Minas Passage, the project will mark the first Canadian deployment of commercial-scale tidal turbines.
The idea is to prove that tidal power can be successfully drawn from the bay, home of the world's most powerful tides.
Three groups are set to test different tidal technologies in the Minas Passage.
Nova Scotia Power and its partner, OpenHydro, an Irish tidal technology firm, recently lowered their massive unit in the water. Clean Current Power Systems Inc., a Vancouver-based company, plans to install its turbine this spring.
Travers said his company's turbine, produced by U.K.-based Marine Current Turbines, should be in the water within two years.
The unit resembles a submersible wind turbine, with propellers that spin when the tide rushes by. The U.K. firm planted a similar unit in Northern Ireland in 2008 - the world's first commercial-scale turbine.
But not only is Minas Basin Pulp and Power placing one of the three Bay of Fundy test turbines, it is also overseeing the overall testing effort.
From laying electrical cable to securing the environmental permitting, the fourth-generation, privately-owned milling company is leading the effort to harness the bay's powerful tides.
If successful, Travers says those efforts could be lucrative.
He estimates that 2,000 megawatts could be drawn from the bay within five or 10 years - enough to power all the homes and industry in Nova Scotia.
"It's 100 per cent green, renewable and predictable," Travers said at a recent federal energy announcement. "It's far better than fossil fuel-driven energy."
Despite those advantages, however, tidal power is not without its sceptics.
Those include Premier Shawn Graham, who says it is unproven, particularly in terms of the cost to ratepayers.
Travers doesn't dispute that claim, but says it's no reason to abandon the idea of tidal power.
"That's true. In the initial stages it won't be competitive with other power sources," he said.
"We'll learn how to bring the price down. Wind energy was dreadfully expensive at first, but we didn't stop because we knew it had a future," he continued, noting that future carbon credits and green energy incentives could bring the cost of tidal power down.
"What we're taking here are baby steps, but big baby steps. I'm looking forward to the next 10 years."
Renewable Energy Down Under
Renewable energy news
Hot airline meals and solar hot water
Solar hot water technology will be used by Beijing Airport to heat the in-flight meals of up to 30,000 passengers.
Europe To Build $46bn Super Grid
Nine European countries have announced plans to create a huge inter-country power grid in order to utilise electricity from renewable energy production more efficiently.
Strict Battery Recycling Laws Begin in EU
Manufacturers of all kinds of batteries sold in the European Union are now required to pay for the collection, treatment and recycling of batteries, including rechargeable and deep cycle batteries used in renewable energy applications.
Laser Equipped Smart Wind Turbines
The National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy at the Technical University of Denmark has successfully completed testing on a "smart" wind turbine equipped with laser technology.
From Energy Matters
NSW Solar Bonus Scheme Defended
The New South Wales Solar Bonus Scheme, launched on January 1, is one of Australia's most generous feed in tariff schemes - but isn't without its critics.
Liberals Tout Uncapped Solar Panel Rebate?
A press release issued last week by the office of Peter Garrett states the Government noted that the Liberal Party has made what the Government says is a "new policy announcement" in regard to the insulation rebate and residential solar power systems.
Solar Powered Eyes For The Blind
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a retinal implant that will make artificial vision more natural - thanks in part to the use of solar cells.
Hot airline meals and solar hot water
Solar hot water technology will be used by Beijing Airport to heat the in-flight meals of up to 30,000 passengers.
Europe To Build $46bn Super Grid
Nine European countries have announced plans to create a huge inter-country power grid in order to utilise electricity from renewable energy production more efficiently.
Strict Battery Recycling Laws Begin in EU
Manufacturers of all kinds of batteries sold in the European Union are now required to pay for the collection, treatment and recycling of batteries, including rechargeable and deep cycle batteries used in renewable energy applications.
Laser Equipped Smart Wind Turbines
The National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy at the Technical University of Denmark has successfully completed testing on a "smart" wind turbine equipped with laser technology.
From Energy Matters
NSW Solar Bonus Scheme Defended
The New South Wales Solar Bonus Scheme, launched on January 1, is one of Australia's most generous feed in tariff schemes - but isn't without its critics.
Liberals Tout Uncapped Solar Panel Rebate?
A press release issued last week by the office of Peter Garrett states the Government noted that the Liberal Party has made what the Government says is a "new policy announcement" in regard to the insulation rebate and residential solar power systems.
Solar Powered Eyes For The Blind
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a retinal implant that will make artificial vision more natural - thanks in part to the use of solar cells.
Water Turbines Spinning Their Wheels
Turbine project delayed
Design work pushes launch of two prototypes back a year
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Wed. Jan 13 - 4:46 AM
The redesign of underwater tidal turbines by Hantsport’s Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Ltd. and Clean Current Power Systems Inc. of British Columbia has pushed back the launch of the two prototypes by another year, a Minas Basin official told The Chronicle Herald on Tuesday.
This is the second time the tidal power demonstration project has fallen behind schedule since the province announced two years ago that three prototypes would try to generate electricity from the Bay of Fundy tides.
"We are now targeting 2011 for deployment," said Minas Basin vice-president John Woods, who talked for both companies.
"We think we can build a better turbine if we can take a little bit longer, put more features in it and make it more robust for (the Bay of) Fundy."
Minas Basin and its technology partner Marine Current Turbines Ltd. of Bristol, England, had hoped to launch its SeaGen underwater turbine in 2010 and expected to spend between $15 million and $18 million to build and install the prototype.
Clean Current and its partner, international industrial giant Alstom, is also redesigning its proposed Mark III turbine, pushing its launch date to 2011 as well, Mr. Woods said. Clean Current was expected to spend about $10 million building and installing its prototype.
"We are taking our time to make sure that what we’ve got really . . . meets the Fundy standard," Mr. Woods said during a break in a meeting of tidal participants in Bedford.
The third group involved with the tidal power test project is Nova Scotia Power Inc. and its Irish partner, OpenHydro. They deposited their massive steel turbine on the Bay of Fundy’s seafloor on Nov. 12, 2009. The turbine is working but not connected to the power grid.
"Nova Scotia Power always knew theirs was spinning but can’t put it on the grid. We’re glad they are in the water because we are learning stuff," said Mr. Woods.
Last month Minas Basin and Marine Currents met in Copenhagen to discuss the redesign and set new construction dates, said Mr. Woods.
Minas Basin and Clean Current were not in a rush to deploy their technology because they wanted to wait until the costly submarine cables were installed and that was dependent upon federal government funding, he said.
On Monday the federal government announced it has earmarked between $10 million and $20 million under the Clean Energy Fund towards the multi-million dollar tidal energy project. The funding will help cover the cost of installing the $9-million underwater cables that carry the electricity to shore.
"Now that the federal government has declared its participation in this, we’re pretty certain we have money for cables," he said. "The project would have proceeded without federal government money but much slower."
The cables are expected to be ordered within the next two months and will take about 15 months to be delivered and installed, he said.
"The submarine cables will be ordered this year for installation in the spring of 2011. It doesn’t make much sense to have the turbine in the water with no cable," he said. "We will be in there a month after the cables are installed."
( jmyrden@herald.ca)
Design work pushes launch of two prototypes back a year
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Wed. Jan 13 - 4:46 AM
The redesign of underwater tidal turbines by Hantsport’s Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Ltd. and Clean Current Power Systems Inc. of British Columbia has pushed back the launch of the two prototypes by another year, a Minas Basin official told The Chronicle Herald on Tuesday.
This is the second time the tidal power demonstration project has fallen behind schedule since the province announced two years ago that three prototypes would try to generate electricity from the Bay of Fundy tides.
"We are now targeting 2011 for deployment," said Minas Basin vice-president John Woods, who talked for both companies.
"We think we can build a better turbine if we can take a little bit longer, put more features in it and make it more robust for (the Bay of) Fundy."
Minas Basin and its technology partner Marine Current Turbines Ltd. of Bristol, England, had hoped to launch its SeaGen underwater turbine in 2010 and expected to spend between $15 million and $18 million to build and install the prototype.
Clean Current and its partner, international industrial giant Alstom, is also redesigning its proposed Mark III turbine, pushing its launch date to 2011 as well, Mr. Woods said. Clean Current was expected to spend about $10 million building and installing its prototype.
"We are taking our time to make sure that what we’ve got really . . . meets the Fundy standard," Mr. Woods said during a break in a meeting of tidal participants in Bedford.
The third group involved with the tidal power test project is Nova Scotia Power Inc. and its Irish partner, OpenHydro. They deposited their massive steel turbine on the Bay of Fundy’s seafloor on Nov. 12, 2009. The turbine is working but not connected to the power grid.
"Nova Scotia Power always knew theirs was spinning but can’t put it on the grid. We’re glad they are in the water because we are learning stuff," said Mr. Woods.
Last month Minas Basin and Marine Currents met in Copenhagen to discuss the redesign and set new construction dates, said Mr. Woods.
Minas Basin and Clean Current were not in a rush to deploy their technology because they wanted to wait until the costly submarine cables were installed and that was dependent upon federal government funding, he said.
On Monday the federal government announced it has earmarked between $10 million and $20 million under the Clean Energy Fund towards the multi-million dollar tidal energy project. The funding will help cover the cost of installing the $9-million underwater cables that carry the electricity to shore.
"Now that the federal government has declared its participation in this, we’re pretty certain we have money for cables," he said. "The project would have proceeded without federal government money but much slower."
The cables are expected to be ordered within the next two months and will take about 15 months to be delivered and installed, he said.
"The submarine cables will be ordered this year for installation in the spring of 2011. It doesn’t make much sense to have the turbine in the water with no cable," he said. "We will be in there a month after the cables are installed."
( jmyrden@herald.ca)
Minister Asks for Your Input
Steele wants to hear from you in pre-budget tour
By JEFFREY SIMPSON Provincial Reporter
Thu. Jan 14 - 4:13 PM
Finance Minister Graham Steele will be travelling throughout the province this winter to discuss with Nova Scotians how to get the province's finances back on track.
Mr. Steele said Thursday that he'll hold at least 23 public meetings in 16 communities by the end of February in an attempt to come up with ideas about how raise revenue and curb spending, which is outpacing growth in the province.
“Part of the challenge here is getting people to understand the size of the financial problem and the difficulty the province is in,” Mr. Steele told a news conference in Halifax.
“We need Nova Scotians to understand the reality of the financial situation.”
Mr. Steele said it will be the largest public consultation process about finances the province has had and will cost about $63,000 as the government seeks long-term direction on where to cut costs and help the economy grow.
“We could go behind closed doors and make all the decisions that need to be made but that's not democratic government,” he said.
“Whatever solutions we come up with have to be things that the people of the province understand and accept and ideally have contributed to. And that's why we're doing it this way.”
Nova Scotia waded into red ink this fall and is now set to record a $525.2-million deficit for 2009-10.
The province will be facing deficits of $1.4 billion within the next few years if new financial measures aren't taken, Mr. Steele said.
“The most difficult question facing government is not how to spend more money,” Mr. Steele said. “The government is awash in good ideas about how to spend money in productive ways, but that's not the difficult question.
“The difficult question is where is the money going to come from to do it? And what I would say to anybody who comes to a meeting with that kind of thought is help me to know what your values and priorities are in terms of where does the money come from.”
The province is asking people who want to attend to register ahead of time so organizers get an idea of what kinds of numbers to expect, he said. Anybody can show up and say whatever they want, he said.
“This could be the biggest show in town in one place and have absolutely no interest somewhere else,” he said. “We just don't know.”
People will be seated around tables in an attempt to foster discussion among themselves after a 10-minute introductory presentation by Mr. Steele. He'll also be meeting with four chambers of commerce around the province.
Of the money being spent on the public meetings, about $35,000 will go to facilitator Becky Colwell who operates a firm called Fourth Wave Strategy Inc., $18,000 on advertising in newspapers and radio stations and $11,000 on setting up the audio systems for the sessions.
Liberal finance critic Diana Whalen said the public consultation may be a good idea and the costs are understandable.
“My concern is this whole exercise should not be used as a smokescreen for his budget decisions,” she said.
The schedule for the meetings hasn't been finalized. But the first week of meetings will be held on Jan. 22 in Sydney, Jan. 23 in Port Hawkesbury, Jan. 25 in Bridgewater and Jan. 28 in Stellarton. Meetings will also be held in Amherst, Dartmouth, Digby, Eastern Passage, Kentville, Liverpool, Lower Sackville, Tantallon, Truro, Wolfville and Yarmouth.
People can sign up for meetings at www.gov.ns.ca/finance.
(jsimpson@herald.ca)
By JEFFREY SIMPSON Provincial Reporter
Thu. Jan 14 - 4:13 PM
Finance Minister Graham Steele will be travelling throughout the province this winter to discuss with Nova Scotians how to get the province's finances back on track.
Mr. Steele said Thursday that he'll hold at least 23 public meetings in 16 communities by the end of February in an attempt to come up with ideas about how raise revenue and curb spending, which is outpacing growth in the province.
“Part of the challenge here is getting people to understand the size of the financial problem and the difficulty the province is in,” Mr. Steele told a news conference in Halifax.
“We need Nova Scotians to understand the reality of the financial situation.”
Mr. Steele said it will be the largest public consultation process about finances the province has had and will cost about $63,000 as the government seeks long-term direction on where to cut costs and help the economy grow.
“We could go behind closed doors and make all the decisions that need to be made but that's not democratic government,” he said.
“Whatever solutions we come up with have to be things that the people of the province understand and accept and ideally have contributed to. And that's why we're doing it this way.”
Nova Scotia waded into red ink this fall and is now set to record a $525.2-million deficit for 2009-10.
The province will be facing deficits of $1.4 billion within the next few years if new financial measures aren't taken, Mr. Steele said.
“The most difficult question facing government is not how to spend more money,” Mr. Steele said. “The government is awash in good ideas about how to spend money in productive ways, but that's not the difficult question.
“The difficult question is where is the money going to come from to do it? And what I would say to anybody who comes to a meeting with that kind of thought is help me to know what your values and priorities are in terms of where does the money come from.”
The province is asking people who want to attend to register ahead of time so organizers get an idea of what kinds of numbers to expect, he said. Anybody can show up and say whatever they want, he said.
“This could be the biggest show in town in one place and have absolutely no interest somewhere else,” he said. “We just don't know.”
People will be seated around tables in an attempt to foster discussion among themselves after a 10-minute introductory presentation by Mr. Steele. He'll also be meeting with four chambers of commerce around the province.
Of the money being spent on the public meetings, about $35,000 will go to facilitator Becky Colwell who operates a firm called Fourth Wave Strategy Inc., $18,000 on advertising in newspapers and radio stations and $11,000 on setting up the audio systems for the sessions.
Liberal finance critic Diana Whalen said the public consultation may be a good idea and the costs are understandable.
“My concern is this whole exercise should not be used as a smokescreen for his budget decisions,” she said.
The schedule for the meetings hasn't been finalized. But the first week of meetings will be held on Jan. 22 in Sydney, Jan. 23 in Port Hawkesbury, Jan. 25 in Bridgewater and Jan. 28 in Stellarton. Meetings will also be held in Amherst, Dartmouth, Digby, Eastern Passage, Kentville, Liverpool, Lower Sackville, Tantallon, Truro, Wolfville and Yarmouth.
People can sign up for meetings at www.gov.ns.ca/finance.
(jsimpson@herald.ca)
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