Online GIS Mapping Platform Supports Development in Emerging Tidal Sector
Wolfville, N.S. – Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Canada is emerging as an international leader in tidal energy research and technology development. Much of this development is happening right here, in Nova Scotia. The opportunity results from a number of key factors. First and foremost is the massive resource potential in the Bay of Fundy. Other strategic assets include close proximity to the power grid and local expertise in the ocean industry and tidal energy sector.
Understanding how to harness that power in a sustainable manner and capitalize on the economic opportunities it can provide is getting easier with the creation of a new geographic information system (GIS) mapping platform. This platform gathers physical, environmental and infrastructure data from tidal sites along the Bay of Fundy and makes this information accessible online. The Government of Canada today announced an investment of $65,000, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) Innovative Communities Fund (ICF), in support of this online tidal energy atlas.
The project is a partnership between the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute (ATEI) in Wolfville, the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) in Parrsboro, and Fall River’s Tekmap Consulting, and resulted in a successful beta-version of the technology funded by the Offshore Energy Research Association. When launched, the fully-formed tool will help to build a competitive, sustainable tidal energy industry across the province as well as provide educational benefits for the broader community.
The tool will aid in decision-making related to research, development and deployment by yielding insights such as the visualization of physical and environmental layers of a site, available power potential, existing turbulence and the presence of marine life.
The model can also be used to develop similar tools for tidal energy sectors along Canada’s coastlines, as well as inform comparable projects throughout the renewable energy sector globally.
In addition to ACOA’s investment, the Nova Scotia Department of Energy and the Offshore Energy Research Association are each investing $20,000 in the project. FORCE is also investing $10,000 in the project as well as in-kind expertise.
Quick Facts:
- Acadia’s link to tidal power stretches back to 1915, when engineering professor Ralph Clarkson developed an innovative proposal to harvest tidal energy from the Minas Channel at Cape Split. (source)
- Over the next 25 years, the tidal energy industry could contribute up to $1.7 billion to Nova Scotia’s gross domestic product (GDP), create up to 22,000 jobs and generate as much as $815 million in labour income, according to a study commissioned by the Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia. (source)
- FORCE is Canada’s leading centre for in-stream tidal energy technology, located in the Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy.
- On a flood tide, 160 billion tonnes of seawater flows into the Bay of Fundy — more than four times the estimated combined flow of all the world’s freshwater rivers during the same six-hour interval. (source)
- Tekmap Consulting of Fall River is creating the high resolution visualization animations that will be used in the GIS mapping platform.
Quotes:
“Today, Acadia sits at the forefront of research, development and activity in an industry that is poised to inject up to $1.7 billion into Nova Scotia’s economy over the next 25 years. Through this project, the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute, along with the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy and the Offshore Energy Research Association, is providing the sector with a tool that yields unprecedented insights into the potential inherent in tides.”
- The Honourable Peter MacKay, Regional Minister for Nova Scotia, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, on behalf of the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
“Canada’s tidal resource in the Bay of Fundy offers incredible potential not only as a source of clean, renewable energy, but also as a driver of Nova Scotia’s energy economy. This research project will help government, industry and academics better understand the potential of this resource, and provide valuable insight moving forward.”
- Keith Irving, MLA, Kings South
“Effective sharing of tidal energy site data and knowledge requires visualization of diverse and large geospatial datasets. This new tool will provide easy, online display of maps that show information and available data collected from tidal site surveys, research projects, models, and other resources. It is both practical and educational, and will be beneficial for all tidal energy stakeholders, including the public.”
- Anna Redden, Director of the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute
“Tidal energy has the potential to be a source of clean, local energy for generations to come. Understanding how to harness its power can be challenging: it can be expensive to capture data from fast moving water and finding suitable tidal sites requires not only resource data, but many other variables – including marine life and access to the power grid. This tool will make planning future sites easier, and allow easier access to the data for more people.”
- Tony Wright, General Manager, Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy
“The online interactive GIS Platform promises to be a tool that will aid and develop the Nova Scotia tidal energy sector. As the tidal energy sector moves through the merging of large datasets with online accessibility, the GIS Platform creates a publicly available solution to dramatically improve the way data is provided to turbine and site developers, researchers, supply chain companies, municipalities, policy makers, regulators and to the general public. The GIS Platform will enable decision makers, developers and scientists to realize the promise of smart, connected devices across the energy landscape and help minimize both project risks and project costs.”
- Stephen Dempsey, Executive Director of the Offshore Energy Research Association
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