Renewable energy has already proved its worth in many ways, but while solar and, the wind often get much of the glory, poor old tidal power doesn’t get much exposure. However, that may all be about to change as the first ever tidal generator goes live in North America and should be powerful enough to provide electricity for as many as 500 homes.
The generator is situated in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia and is a first for North America. It’s perfectly located as Nova Scotia is known to have some of the largest tides in the world. Capturing just a portion of that energy should be sufficient enough to harness 2 megawatts of electrical power.
Tidal power uses all the energy it can – from both high and low tides. The difference in size between the low and high tides in the Bay of Fundy is around 56 feet, and there is more than 110 billion tons of water flowing in and out every tidal period. This produces a massive amount of energy and two companies that have recognized the potential here are OpenHydro and Emera. Both renewable energy developer companies have built turbines at the Nova Scotia site and are looking to tap into some of that ‘free’ energy.
This is the second attempt at installing a turbine here. In 2009 the two companies have their hopes smashed when the tides were more powerful than they have credit to and the blades of the turbine were destroyed. This time, however, they are more prepared, and the new turbines weigh in at a whopping 1,000 tons and stand five stories tall. Hopefully, this will be enough to withstand the powers of the tide.
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