Tidal Power!
According to CBC, the Bay of Fundy is a great place to start if they are interested in harnessing tidal power. It may even be the best tidal power spot in the world.
Critics note that tidal power is intermittent — it only generates electricity for 10 to 12 hours a day while the tides are moving in and out. But Bedard says that with today’s computerized system, that shouldn’t be a concern. Utilities want “firm power,” he says. They want to know a day ahead what they will have on tap for their system, and the beauty of the tides is that they are “perfectly deterministic,” meaning they flow like clockwork every 12 hours and 25 minutes.
With our many rushing rivers and coastal fiords, Canada may well be the place for tidal power, or at least what is called in-stream generators. (Some countries, like Britain, are experimenting with offshore wave farms that tether generators in the midst of a powerful current.) To date, however, we only have two experiments on the go: The old Nova Scotia Power pilot project in the Bay of Fundy that dates from 1984, and a new, $4-million experiment with Clean Current Power Systems at Pearson College on Vancouver Island, which is being used to power the school’s marina. The biggest tidal power system in the world is near St. Malo, France, dates from 1966 and generates nearly 240 megawatts of power. But, like the old NSP project near Annapolis, N.S., it is a dam-based system that halts the tides in a holding area before releasing them through a generator. As a result, the headpond is subject to silting and other concerns about fish habitats.
Nathan was thinking green at 10:22 AM on April 26, 2007
Comments are sorta kinda broken right now. We're working on it but to save energy can only work in daytime when solar system is at peak performance.
cbc tidal+power cbc+news bay+fundy
