“Minas Basin” by Shawn Harquail, CC BY-NC 2.0
The Government of Canada, working with the province of Nova Scotia, Indigenous communities, academia and industry to support the development of tidal projects in the Bay of Fundy, is funding several projects meant to develop monitoring platforms for ecosystems near tidal energy projects.
On September 19, the Honourable Kody Blois, on behalf of the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries, announced over $10 million in federal funding for two projects through the Energy Innovation Program:
- The Ocean Sensors Innovation Platform (OSIP) led by the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy Ltd. (FORCE)
- The “Reducing Fish-Turbine Collision Risk Uncertainty in the Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy” project led by Acadia University
With the world’s highest tidal range, the Bay of Fundy holds plenty of potential as a source of tidal energy. Through OSIP, FORCE will develop environmental monitoring platforms that collect fish and ecosystem data. In turn, the collected data will inform regulators, investors and the public to advance tidal energy. FORCE is a private, not-for-profit research facility for tidal stream technology created to better understand how tidal technology can play a role in Canada’s clean energy future.
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“Companies from around the world want to invest in Nova Scotia’s tidal sector because they see the potential for innovation, green energy and long-term economic growth,” said Julie Vanexan
MLA Kings South, on behalf of Trevor Boudreau, Nova Scotia Minister of Energy. “Through this partnership between FORCE and Acadia, we’ll have monitoring data that regulators, investors and the public can count on as this sector grows our green economy by advancing clean tidal energy.”
Acadia University’s project will conduct fish detection studies and develop fish movement models and monitoring approaches to inform assessments of interactions between fish and tidal energy devices.
In June 2023, the Task Force on Sustainable Tidal Energy Development in the Bay of Fundy was initiated and co-chaired by NRCan and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), with members from the Government of Nova Scotia, FORCE and Marine Renewables Canada to explore issues and opportunities associated with the deployment of tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy.
NRCan provided funding of $10.7 million for both projects through its Energy Innovation Program (EIP) and DFO in-kind support valued at over $1.4 million for Acadia University.
