Sustainable Energy

Permit issued for tidal power project in Nova Scotia

Key Points
  • Nova Scotia's Department of Energy and Mines has issued the permit to Black Rock Tidal Power.
  • The Bay of Fundy has fast tidal currents that exceed 18 kilometers per hour at peak surface speed.
Mike Grandmaison | All Canada Photos | Getty Images

Nova Scotia authorities have issued a marine renewable energy permit for a tidal electricity project in the Bay of Fundy.

The permit was issued to Black Rock Tidal Power, Nova Scotia's Department of Energy and Mines said in an announcement Wednesday. It allows the business to test a 280-kilowatt floating platform "for up to six months."

"Developing marine renewable energy here is a key pillar of our clean energy plan," Derek Mombourquette, Nova Scotia's energy and mines minister, said in a statement.

"Projects like this that test technology in the Bay of Fundy's unique marine environment will help spur innovation and competition and help solidify Nova Scotia's position as a leader in the development of tidal technology."

Under the terms of the permit, an environmental effects monitoring plan is required to be in place and adhered to for the duration of the project.

The Bay of Fundy has fast tidal currents that exceed 18 kilometers per hour at peak surface speed, according to the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy.

Around the world, efforts are being made to harness the energy of the oceans.

In August, it was announced that a tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland, had generated record levels of power production in its first year of testing.

The two-megawatt SR2000 turbine produced more than three gigawatt hours of renewable electricity in less than 12 months, Scotrenewables Tidal Power said at the time.

The European Commission has described "ocean energy" as being both abundant and renewable. It's estimated that it could potentially contribute around 10 percent of the European Union's power demand by 2050, according to the Commission.