💨 ☀️ The allure of capturing energy from nature has captured our imaginations for centuries. Over the years we have focussed on using the wind and the sun to power things for us, with varying degress of success. Heck, some of my colleagues here at Dentons have built a career out of those transactions.
🌊 But the one type of natural power we have not been able to crack that holds the greatest fascination for me is tidal power, or using the ideas of the ocean to generate electricity. But as they say in the rom coms, it's complicated. While not tidal power, hydro generation at Niagara Falls has demonstrated that lots of electricity can be predictably generated from the movement of water controlled by nature.
🌊 First off, the tides are where the tides are. Unlike wind mills or solar panels which can by installed in a variety of locations, there are only a few locations on earth suited for harnessing tidal power. And the Bay of Fundy is one of them.
🌊 Second, the power of the sea is enormous and much harder to control exposure to than a solar or wind installation.
🌊 Third, unlike wind and sun which can have unpredictable intensity, the tide goes in and out twice a day, every day with predictable volumes.
So why haven't we been able to solve all our problems by putting a turbine at the bottom of the ocean, out of sight? The attached Financial Post article by Joe O'Connor explains some of the reasons.
Tap Fundy and the planet’s most intriguing, renewable what-if energy project could allow Nova Scotia to kick its dependence on coal-fired power-generating stations and create a new sector of the economy. Get it right, and the potential payoff is huge; it is the kind of high-stakes, transformational and green energy moonshot that tidal power believers simply can’t resist.
Alas, it does not look like I am going to see tidal power solving our problems anytime soon.
From what our little birdies told me, sounded like a great event! We're fortunate and grateful to be a partner of events like these and hope to continue building the community of renewable energy experts all across North America. #RisingEdge #UnWind #Renewables