Canada’s Bay of Fundy: Beautiful and Renewable Power

Majestic and serene, Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy is one of Canada’s natural marvels. Every tidal cycle, about 100 billion tonnes of seawater flows in and out of the Bay. With some of the highest tides in the world (it has a rivalry with the Leaf Basin in Ungava Bay), there are multiple opportunities to generate electricity from this natural wonder. These high tides provide an opportunity to generate power from the tidal energy in a similar manner to modern hydroelectric dams. And just like with hydroelectric dams, the question arises: is this energy really renewable and green?

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Currently, the Annapolis Tidal Generating Station, with the world’s largest straight-flow turbine, is capable of producing more than 30 million kilowatt-hours per year (enough electricity to power 4,500 homes). Concerns over environmental effects have prevented the building of further generating stations, which would by necessity dam off part of the Bay and extract power through the water’s transit. Again, similarly to hydroelectric dams, concerns over aquatic life, soil erosion, - and unique to the Bay of Fundy, resonance - have prevented the construction of more tidal generating stations.

As one of the world’s largest tidal energy resources, it stands to reason that others will have started working on alternative ways of extracting the power from this natural generator. An alternative to damming, there are plans to install tidal turbine generators throughout the Bay. Basically, think of these as underwater windmills. While there will undoubtedly be unforeseen environmental effects, proponents seem to be confident that underwater tidal turbine generators will be the next step in the evolution of the Bay of Fundy’s power generating capabilities.

One thing is for certain: with the demand for power along the Eastern Seaboard growing, there is no doubt that we will be seeing more proposals for harnessing the power that is contained within the Bay of Fundy.

Read More About Canada’s Alternative Energy:

• Community Solar Power
• Tribe in Canada Will Use Wind Energy to Power 30,000 Homes
• Ontario to Build Massive Solar Farm

Photo Credit: Ctd 2005 through Flickr

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