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Marine Energy
Revolutionary tidal fence is set to trap the sea's power:
It offers much less power than basin schemes but may avoid environmental problems of fish kill and elimination of tidal flats.
..txs doug
Revolutionary tidal fence is set to trap the sea's power
If it's truly revolutionary it'll use the sea's power against it, and usher in a new era of aquatic freedom and prosperity for all.
I think it'll get you coming and going. 80 kilometres north of here is the perfect place for tidal power and instead we have proposals to build LNG facilities or open a new coal mine in this region. This is what is needed not Site C.
British Columbia is blessed with numerous sites along its coast where the power of tidal currents could be generating renewable electricity, places like Johnstone Strait adjacent to Campbell River where twice a day the tidal flow peaks at 11 - 14 knots over almost 100 km. And the existing electricity grid is within site on land. Johnstone Strait was identified in a BC Hyrdo report completed by Triton Consultants in 2002 as BC's prime site for tidal current energy potential (energy to be produced by converting the kinetic energy of moving tidal currents into electrical energy*). The report basically branded the site as BC's Niagara Falls or Hoover dam. Or to use a different energy source, the area was akin to BC's Saudi Arabia or Leduc oil basin. Combined with other potential tidal energy 'resource' sites on the coast, Triton reported in its executive summary that "up to 40% of BC's generating capacity" could be met by tidal current energy with the technology of the day.
So what has happened to propel BC's nascent tidal energy development since the release of the 2002 report? Unfortunately, very, very little, though that doesn't accurately describe the efforts of many people, including myself, to help seed this energy technology.
http://www.sustainablecoast.ca/index.php/features/coast-views/item/1089-...
Marine energy activities and government programs in Canada:
http://www.marinerenewables.ca/marine-renewable-energy-in-canada/marine-...
Wave power general:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power
World resources - note that BC is exceptionally good:
http://www.ecowavepower.com/why-wave-energy/global-resources/
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/why_wave_power_has_lagged_far_behind_as_ene...
A somewhat pedantic but complete survey:
http://www.marinerenewables.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Energy-from-Wa...
Osmotic power (fresh water to salt):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmotic_power
http://www.hydroquebec.com/sustainable-development/documentation-center/...
It seems to be a long-term project:
http://www.powermag.com/statkraft-shelves-osmotic-power-project/
but progress is being made:
http://www.gizmag.com/mit-osmotic-power/33464/
Nova Scotia will be a leader or the leader in tidal power. But "the details" are much more daunting than one would think. We are still a number of years away from gettting more than marginal steady production.