Boost For Nova Scotia Tidal
April 20th, 2017
Two Nova Scotia tidal projects have received a combined C$200,000 funding to develop novel environmental monitoring technologies.
Open Seas Instrumentation of Musquodoboit Harbour was awarded $135,000 and JASCO Applied Sciences of Dartmouth received $65,000 in funding with the combined C$300,000 balance of research costs sourced from partner contributions.
The projects were selected for funding through a joint research competition sponsored by the Offshore Energy Research Association (OERA) of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Department of Energy and INNOVACORP.
The Open Seas project focuses on the redesign of a subsea platform for monitoring movement and behaviour of marine life close to the turbine.
The redesign integrates an adjustable structure into the FORCE FAST-2 (Fundy Advanced Sensor Technology) platform so that sensors can collect data from a wide range of viewing perspectives including the face of the turbine.
Project partners are the Nova Scotia Community College, Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy, Acadia University, DSA, and Ocean Moor Technical Services.
Testing will take place in the Minas Passage with project completion set for June 2017.
The JASCO project will develop a long-term monitoring program to measure how sound propagates in turbulent waters so we can better understand how these conditions impact on the ability to acoustically detect marine life.
Researchers will also estimate for different marine organisms, their ability to audibly detect turbines in turbulent waters. The proposed work will involve the novel integration of different hydrophones and sensor technologies, with testing to be conducted in the Bay of Fundy.
Project partners are Dalhousie University and Luna Ocean Consulting. Project completion is set for August 2018.
“The key to developing a sustainable and successful tidal energy industry in Nova Scotia is understanding how turbines interact with the environment in the Bay of Fundy,” said OERA executive director Stephen Dempsey.
“These research projects will not only help us enhance how we monitor the environment near an operating turbine, but is expected to bring technology innovation to the sector, that is developed here and exported abroad.”
Read the Entrevestor article here.