Irving Oil Ltd., the energy arm of the Irving family’s East Coast conglomerate, is looking at producing electricity from the powerful tides in the Bay of Fundy as a way to diversify into renewable energy.
The company, which operates oil refineries and a string of gas stations in Atlantic Canada and the U.S. Northeast, has won approval to conduct feasibility studies for tidal power projects at 11 sites in the bay.
The Saint John-based company said yesterday it will work with the Huntsman Marine Science Centre of St. Andrews, N.B., to assess the economic viability and environmental impact of tidal power turbines at the sites.
Company spokeswoman Jennifer Parker said the studies, which could cost a total of $600,000, may focus on a few sites with the greatest potential. Since Irving is financing the research, it will have first refusal under certain conditions to eventually develop the sites, she added.
The announcement is the latest development in two broader energy trends on the East Coast. First, tidal power could potentially contribute to the development of the Saint John Energy Hub, which includes Irving Oil’s participation in the Canaport liquefied natural gas terminal and the proposed Eider Rock oil refinery. Second, it furthers the research and testing in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia of power drawn from the prodigious tidal flows in the Bay of Fundy.
“The New Brunswick energy hub is about supporting self-sufficiency with energy projects that perform the best both economically and environmentally,” Irving Oil chief executive officer Kenneth Irving said in a company statement. “We hope that tidal power becomes a key spoke in the hub.”
Nova Scotia in January approved commercial pilot projects in the Minas Basin, which is considered one of the prime spots in North America for tidal power. Nova Scotia Power Corp. of Halifax, Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. of Hantsport, N.S., and Clean Current Power Systems Inc. of Vancouver will each test their chosen turbine technology for a total investment between $10-million and $15-million. The first turbines will be installed next year.
“We’re very excited about this announcement” by Irving Oil, said NSPC spokeswoman Margaret Murphy. “This is a huge resource and we’re just beginning to explore it. We’re happy to see others testing the sites.”
Experts say tidal power offers huge potential because it is more predictable than solar or wind power, and because the density of water spins turbines with greater force than wind. And the Bay of Fundy is especially attractive because it has the highest tides in the world, and is close to an electricity transmission grid, meaning the power should be able to be brought economically to market.
A 2007 report by the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., identified seven sites in North America that might be suitable for tidal power, estimating that in total they could probably support 551 turbines, each producing one megawatt of power. Of that total, 250 would be in the Minas Pass in Nova Scotia and 66 at Head Harbour in New Brunswick (one of the sites the Irving team will now assess).
“I think they’ve been quite conservative,” John Woods, vice-president of energy development for Minas Basin Pulp and Power, said of the EPRI estimates. He said in an interview yesterday that studies are showing that water flows recover after passing through turbines more quickly than previously thought, meaning turbines might be placed closer together. And the power of individual turbines is increasing, with Clean Current Power developing turbines producing more than two megawatts each.
All the people involved in tidal power said the industry is so young that the technology is changing and the environmental impact has yet to be assessed. The industry still does not know whether fish and whales will be repelled by the vibration of the turbines or could be caught by them. It’s not known either how many turbines could be installed without changing the dynamics of the water current or the sea bed.
The Bay of Fundy is also an attractive tidal power site because it is surrounded by provinces producing dirty energy. According to a CIBC Capital Markets report last year, the electricity utilities of P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are respectively the first, fourth and fifth largest per capita producers of green house gases among power generators in Canada. Nos. 2 and 3 are in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
During years of recearch I have constructed / invented new systens for producing Electrical E nergy by using the TIDE . No CO 2. No use of other energy .
Want to sell my Patent rights .
Best reg .
Arnold Selnes.
I am waiting for yours reply.
Arnold Selnes