National Post (National Edition)
Water POWER
THE QUEST TO TURN NOVA SCOTIA TIDES INTO AFFORDABLE AND STABLE ELECTRICITY.
IT'S NOT TRIED, TESTED AND TRUE YET. THAT'S WHAT THESE FIRST PROJECTS ARE ATTEMPTING TO DO — DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE IS A COMMERCIAL PATH. NOBODY WANTS TIDAL ENERGY AT ANY COST. — TONY WRIGHT, GENERAL MANAGER OF FORCE
Jason Hayman compares developing in-stream tidal energy technology to mountaineering: a long, arduous process that must be done one step at a time, regardless of the slow pace.
Next year, Sustainable Marine Energy Canada Ltd. (SMEC), of which Hayman is chief executive, will deploy its tidal energy technology at Minas Passage in Nova Scotia that Hayman says is the tidal equivalent of climbing K2, the world's second-highest mountain.
“We're just setting up the base camp,” he said in an interview from the U.K. “The next step to get up that summit is a big commitment and you don't want to start without it well-planned and without all the gear you need.”
SMEC's effort to test, improve and, most importantly, make commercially viable its in-stream tidal technology, received a big boost last week when the federal government announced $28.5 million in funding for the company. “It's a big vote of confidence,” Hayman said. “It's great to have the federal government behind the project and (get) some critical funding.”
SMEC, the Canadian subsidiary of a U.K.-based parent company started eight years ago, is now among more than a half-a-dozen companies working to turn Nova Scotia's ocean tides into green, predictable, renewable electricity — at a reasonable cost.
And that's the key, as Hayman and others in the industry fully admit the instream technology is not yet able to produce electricity at rates that would make it a viable alternative to conventional sources. “That takes some time,” Hayman added. “The existing technologies have a little bit of a head start on us.”
In Nova Scotia, the pursuit of commercially-viable tidal energy has spawned demonstration projects in different parts of the Bay of Fundy, a stretch of water between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia known for its powerful tides, using both floating and seabed-mounted technology.
The primary testing ground is at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), the main in-stream tidal energy testing centre in Canada, where SMEC plans to launch its floating array of turbines next year.
The FORCE site, located in Nova Scotia's Minas Passage, has received funding from the federal government (its largest contributor) and the Nova Scotia government. Its main sources of ongoing funding are its private-sector berth holders, such as SMEC.
Essentially, FORCE aims to put all of the necessary ingredients in place to allow developers to test their demonstration technologies. Licensed FORCE developers each get access to a sub-sea cable, interconnection facilities and the right to sell power to the Nova Scotia grid, with a power purchase agreement detailing how much they will be paid per kilowatt-hour.
Licences, issued by the province, also contain deadlines each company must hit. For instance, SMEC must develop its project by the end of 2024 or lose access to its power purchase agreement. “It's time-bound. It's use it or lose it,” Hayman said of that deadline, calling it a “reasonable runway.”
The ultimate goal for developers at FORCE is to test, refine and de-risk tidal electricity production and prove the bay's strong tides can be harnessed to generate electricity at commercially acceptable prices and output, and with little impact on the surrounding environment, including on fish and lobster stocks and marine mammal populations.
“It's not tried, tested and true yet. That's what these first projects are attempting to do — demonstrate that there is a commercial path,” Tony Wright, FORCE's general manager, said in an interview. “Nobody wants tidal energy at any cost. So understanding that it's safe for the environment and that it can co-exist with other users of the Bay of Fundy is a pretty important thing to demonstrate.”
There are five berths at FORCE, which in addition to SMEC, are currently held by other contenders, including Minas Tidal Ltd., which Hayman says is aiding SMEC with use of its berth.
In addition, DP Energy Ireland Ltd., a private renewable energy development company based in County Cork, Ireland, holds two FORCE berths through two affiliate companies, Halagonia Tidal Energy Ltd. and Rio Fundo Operations Canada Ltd. In 2018, the Canadian government announced $29.8 million in funding for Halagonia.
DP's turbine of choice is made by Quebec-based Andritz Hydro and, according to the company, has been used in Scotland since November 2016. Last year, DP said its $117-million project in Nova Scotia is expected to deploy six seabed-mounted turbines to produce a total of nine megawatts.
Big Moon Canada Corp., a new berth holder that has tested technology elsewhere in the Bay of Fundy in recent years, plans to deploy its custom-built floating device in 2021, according to FORCE.
There are currently no active tidal projects at FORCE, but 2021 could see two separate deployments, if SMEC and Big Moon hit their projected launch dates. A handful of other companies are testing, or planning to test, demonstration projects outside of FORCE as well.
The first phase of SMEC's work at FORCE will involve the deployment of three trimaran (three-hulled) platforms. Behind each platform will be six tidal turbines, which, similar to outboard engines, can flip up. “It's like a little stubby wind turbine,” Hayman said.
Water running through those four-metre diameter turbines will move propellers, with a combined output of 1.26 megawatts expected from the three platforms, which Hayman estimates is enough to power 600 homes.
An initial version of the technology was tested for two years in Grand Passage, an area with less powerful tidal flow. A second platform, now under construction in Meteghan, N.S., will represent the largest floating tidal array in the world, according to SMEC. The platform will be launched in Grand Passage later this year for testing, being located to the FORCE site in 2021.
Hayman says success at the FORCE site will be the equivalent of reaching the mountain summit. Then, to commercialize its technology, SMEC must prove it can reach the summit “again and again and do it more slickly and cheaply.”
Progress in the tidal energy industry has been slow in Nova Scotia. The province had previously set 2020 as the deadline for most of the FORCE berth holders to hit commercial operation, or risk losing their power purchase agreements.
The plodding effort has also faced public failures, most notably when Dublin-based OpenHydro Ltd., a co-developer, had its funding abruptly pulled by its parent company, the Paris-based Naval Energies. The decision put OpenHydro in immediate liquidation and stranded the company's colossal two-megawatt tidal turbine on the ocean floor, where it had been placed in July 2018. It remains stranded there today, not functioning and with its rotor stationary. Big Moon, as part of its licence, has agreed to remove the OpenHydro turbine by the end of 2024.
OpenHydro had been seen as the local leader, having deployed in-stream tidal technology in the bay three times since 2009. Its implosion was a major disappointment to the industry and emblematic of the hiccups and delays that have plagued the effort, leading to questions about the technology.
For Hayman the answer is simple: the technology is new and challenging. “This day and age people associate tech with software. They forget how long it actually takes to make a new thing,” he said. “Just look at how long it takes to get a new aircraft in service. And then big guys like Boeing Inc. still don't quite get it right.”
Another challenge is funding. Hayman says his company has, over eight years, spent roughly 20 million euros ($30.6 million). The company's turbine supplier, Schottel Hydro GmbH of Germany, is also its largest shareholder, followed by the Scottish government. “Funding is and always has been somewhat of an issue,” Hayman said, noting he believes success at FORCE and the federal government's backing will “help build momentum” and attract private investment. The key will be to prove SMEC's technology is “truly bankable.”
Sue Molloy, a consulting engineer and adjunct professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax who specializes in ocean engineering and reviews tidal projects for the U.S. government, says public sector investment is necessary for tidal development, just as it has been for other big technologies that are initially too risky and costly for private investors, such as nuclear power.
“If things cost tens of millions to do, you need to have the money to make a mistake,” she said. “We still need government investment. The question is whether or not we have the money in Canada that can pull that off. I don't know.”
Still, Molloy says she's encouraged by how many companies are pursuing the tidal challenge in Nova Scotia and argues patience is required. Molloy was FORCE's first science officer and previously served as the president and general manager of Black Rock Tidal Power (now SMEC). She says tidal companies feel pressure to commit to launch dates and hype milestones. The result has been unmet goals and deadlines. “That kills the industry,” she said. “That kills the view that people have because they keep seeing all these deadlines come and go.”
Molloy whispers when offering her advice to developers feeling pressure to pledge deadlines and major milestones: “Shut your mouth.”