Marine Energy

The waters off Canada’s coasts offer significant potential for wave and tidal current energy. Preliminary studies estimate a total gross resource potential of 225 gigawatts (GW), with tidal current power estimates in excess of 40 GW, the majority in the Bay of Fundy, and 160-180 GW of wave power along the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. Canada’s total installed capacity for tidal power is 20 megawatts, installed in 1984 using a barrage/dam concept in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. An additional 65 kW installed capacity is located at Race Rocks, B.C. in a technology demonstration project using a Canadian designed tidal current turbine.
 

THE TECHNOLOGIES

Tidal energy is produced from the predictable rise and fall of tides under the gravitational influence of the sun and the moon. The majority of tidal energy R&D is focused on tidal current technologies which extract energy using undersea tidal turbines. The tidal-current turbine approach can consist of multiple turbines, similar to a conventional wind farm. The predictability of tidal currents is an important positive factor for the commercialization of this technology.

Wave energy is produced from ocean surface water movement derived from wind, a concentrated form of solar energy. Energy can be produced using nearshore devices that are mounted to the sea bottom or shore, and offshore devices which incorporate one or more-semi buoyant or floating devices.

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Tapping marine power and getting it to shore requires significant engineering and technology development. In recent years, considerable advances have been made in the development of technologies to generate energy from waves and tides. However, the majority of these technologies are in concept and prototype development stages, with only a select few nearing commercial development.²

Canada has the third highest number of marine energy technology development projects internationally.³ In addition, Canada has world-class testing facilities, extensive capacity to undertake feasibility studies, transferable experience from the offshore oil and gas industry, and extensive capacity in marine engineering, design, systems integration, installation and construction.

It has been recognized within the federal government that marine energy represents a potential opportunity to provide clean energy to meet growing energy demands and replace increasingly expensive and polluting fossil fuels. Marine energy research and development (R&D) will be centred around four research streams: technology development, resource assessment, renewable energy technology networks and environmental impacts and mitigation. CanmetENERGY leads R&D projects aimed at supporting activities undertaken at the provincial level and to foster the growth of the marine energy industry in Canada.

Internationally, CanmetENERGY represents Canada on the Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement and is involved in activities that are being conducted concerning grid integration and the provision of guidelines for testing and evaluating marine energy systems. NRCan is also representing Canada as chair of the newly formed International Electrotechnical Committee for Marine Energy which will allow Canada to be at the forefront of the development of codes and standards for marine energy systems.

CanmetENERGY has over 30 years of experience in working with emerging renewable energy technologies from the research and development stage, through to demonstration and deployment and finally market adoption. CanmetENERGY has also developed significant expertise and experience with hydropower and water current technologies. CanmetENERGY’s water current technology R&D presently includes the commercialization of the 5 kW and 25 kW Vertical Axis Hydro Turbine (VAHT). This work is expected to result in a standard design for the VAHT that can be scaled up for marine (tidal) current application.