April 15, 2015
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Natural Resources Canada and SDTC
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Justice, on behalf of the Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced funding of over $8 million to support the development of clean technologies in the area. The funding was provided though Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) SD Tech Fund.
Sector: Power Generation
Environmental Benefits: Climate Change (primary)/Clean Air (co-benefit)
SDTC Investment: $6,353,000
Project Description:
At over 16 metres, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world. This unique site has the potential to supply thousands of homes with clean and renewable energy. The conditions found in the Bay of Fundy are demonstrably harsher than other tidal sites around the world, representing a significant engineering challenge in developing technology to turn the flow of water into electricity in a cost-effective manner. OpenHydro will deploy a 4MW array (two 2MW turbines) at the FORCE facility in the Bay of Fundy, demonstrating the cost and performance of a commercial tidal farm. The project will validate the turbine spacing effects, control strategies, connectivity and cabling installation needed to deliver an operational tidal turbine array. Designed for the harsh conditions of the Bay of Fundy, each OpenHydro turbine is mounted on a subsea gravity base that is placed on the seabed. Each unit is expected to produce 2MW at a cost of 14.7 cents per kWh by 2020.
Consortium Members:
OpenHydro Technology Canada
Emera Inc.
Sector: Energy Utilization
Environmental Benefits: Climate Change (primary)/Clean Air (co-benefit)
SDTC funding: $1,700,000
Project Description:
Commercial buildings in Canada are responsible for 33 percent of total energy use and emit 35 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas, with heating and cooling being the largest user. Current automated building management systems (or BEMS) can achieve up to a 13.5 percent reduction in energy consumption by operating on a rule-based control principle that acts on predefined responses for given sets of conditions. Predictive Building Control systems are an emerging best practice in building energy management. They have the potential to achieve additional reduction in energy consumption, however, by only 11.5 percent because they utilize low-resolution weather forecasting technology (technology that does not provide frequent data and gives that data for a large area). Green Power Labs is developing an advanced building energy management system with predictive building controls, which use high resolution climate forecasts – frequent forecasts for a smaller area – provided by SolarSatData™ for Buildings (SSDB™). SSDB™ is expected to reduce energy consumption in buildings by an additional 6.5 percent on top of the 11.5 percent energy savings being offered by the emerging predictive building control systems. Green Power Labs’ technology could enable a cumulative reduction in emissions of over 72 kT CO2e/year in Canada and 752 kT CO2e/year in the rest of the world by 2023.
Consortium Members:
Green Power Labs
McKinstry
Acadia University
Dalhousie University
