Canadian tidal power is swimming hard against the current

The Bay of Fundy’s legendary high tides could be perfect for power production, with the moon’s gravity pulling 100 billion tonnes of water in and out twice each day. Even with all that power — and in some ways because of it — the tidal energy industry has struggled to seize the opportunity, but at a November gathering in Halifax, it was clear the sector is going to continue fighting the current.

In a conference hall a few feet from the Atlantic Ocean, industry players from the marine renewable energy sector discussed the challenges tidal has faced so far, and highlighted what they dubbed a “new era” for the fledgling industry. Kicking off the event was project developer Anne-Marie Belliveau, who noted, “clearly, obviously, in Canada, there have been ups and downs in tidal energy,” but in the same breath, that the industry has promise – “the tremendous amount of power and energy” of the Bay of Fundy proves it.

Representatives from Scotland, the United States and both coasts of Canada spoke about the technology, and what pathways they see for its expansion. Biologist Marina Winterbottom highlighted the potential for small-scale tidal to decarbonize diesel-reliant First Nations, while Gary Connor of Nova Innovation (which has a planned tidal project in the Bay of Fundy) showcased the company’s tidal advances in Shetland, including the world’s first tidal-powered EV charging port.

Tidal power is generated using water surging inland or out to sea with the rising and falling tides turning massive underwater turbines. The Bay of Fundy has the world’s most extreme difference between high and low tide.

So far, however, the bay’s immense energy potential has proved an opportunity and a barrier for the sector. Several promising technologies piloted in the Bay of Fundy, including the high-profile OpenHydro pilot turbine, were broken by the roiling tides, which carry with them tonnes of seabed detritus and — in the winter — ice blocks. 

Other fledgling projects have run out of money before fully launching. Last year, the bay claimed another victim, the now-bankrupt Sustainable Marine Energy. The Scottish company, which installed the first-ever, grid-connected, floating tidal energy platform in the bay’s Grand Passage, had to abandon the project despite receiving nearly $30 million in federal funding due to what it described as entanglements with regulatory red tape from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). 

Most recently, another tidal company, Occurrent – formerly BigMoon Power — also filed for bankruptcy after running out of money, despite a power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power and a test site in the Bay of Fundy.

Bay of Fundy tidal power already has a unit in its graveyard, the 1,300-tonne foundation that was part of OpenHydro’s doomed turbine. The steel foundation was left behind in 2018 when the developer filed for liquidation, two months after connecting to the province’s grid. In 2021, Nova Scotia Power shut down its tidal generating station after its generator failed and DFO stepped in, saying the project harmed fish. The fishing industry unsuccessfully went to court to overturn a tidal approval due to concerns around wildlife monitoring and has questioned the industry’s impacts on fish and other sea creatures as a whole.

Tidal power advocates point to successful projects in other parts of the world as cause for optimism. Belliveau, who helped launch the Nova East floating wind power project in development off Goldboro, N.S., highlighted positive signals about the viability of tidal in other parts of the world. Projects are underway in Wales, Indonesia and France, which was awarded €55 million by the EU for two tidal projects.

In Canada, movement over the past year has been quieter but still notable, said Lindsay Bennett, executive director at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), a non-profit organization focused on tidal energy research in the Bay of Fundy. The organization operates a tidal test facility in the Bay of Fundy and oversees berths for tidal energy projects.

Following Sustainable Marine Energy’s departure, DFO created a task force on tidal energy development and put out its final report in the spring. 

In partnership with Natural Resources Canada, the task force’s goal was to clarify regulatory requirements for tidal projects and chart a path for growth for the industry, while acknowledging the Bay of Fundy is home to marine life, including species at risk. The report states it “must be carried out in a way that is consistent with the protection of aquatic species and their habitat.”

The report recommends DFO take a staged approach to issuing project approvals, which is meant to lay out a clear pathway for companies to gradually expand tidal projects. Bennet explained that shift aligns with “what the province is licensing, so up to five megawatts and 15-year power purchase agreements.”

“So that's been really encouraging. We haven't seen a project yet obtain that type of authorization from DFO, but we do have some projects that are working toward obtaining that,” she said.

Support for research between FORCE and Acadia University for more research around collision risk for marine species, also arose from the report. Support is key because monitoring in a high-flow environment like the Bay of Fundy is “challenging,” Bennett said.

However, she stresses that “we do need turbines in the water,” and “we want monitoring that is proportionate to the risk…it's really not anticipated that there's going to be any serious harmful effects from devices, particularly with fish, but we don't know.”

While tidal isn’t going to take off tomorrow, or in time to get Nova Scotia off coal by the federally mandated target of 2030, Bennett says it’s part of a longer-term energy future. Specifically, she points to Canada’s commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and the International Energy Agency’s roadmap to net-zero by 2050 which calls for “nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, transport and consume energy.”

While there isn’t one huge ticket item over the past year that shows the viability of tidal, the combination of smaller wins combined with support from both the provincial and federal governments and continued industry enthusiasm bode well for the industry, Bennett said.

“It's a lot of positive signals that Canada aims to get it right, and is still committed to tidal.”