The Nova Scotia government is assuming development of "marine renewable energy" is going to be big, but just how big?
Considering there isn’t even a policy framework established for development of marine energy — tidal, wave and offshore wind — and there isn’t even a reliable technology available to harness the tides of the Bay of Fundy, the government could be accused of jumping the gun.
And yet the Energy Department has a lengthy study that attempts to assess communities that would benefit most from the development of marine energy in Nova Scotia, which was the message the government wanted when consultants were hired in March.
Even if marine energy eventually becomes a major industry, at this point, nobody really knows how the technology will develop, what it will look like and who will benefit. In fact, the consultants recommend the province conduct another infrastructure assessment in about four or five years.
"We know what we have; we’re not yet at the ‘tipping point’ — you might have noticed those words in there — so it’s hard to predict exactly what the industry is going to require as technology changes in the future," admits Energy Minister Charlie Parker.
But he told me the government is feeling the pressure to become a leader in this industry or lose out to competitors in other parts of the world.
In a phone conversation Tuesday, Parker said the main focus of the infrastructure study was to provide an inventory of ports around tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy. He said it puts a particular emphasis on communities close to the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy tidal power demonstration project near Parrsboro.
"It will help communities to identify what they have and perhaps what they may need, as time goes by, to become a major port in the renewable energy sector."
There aren’t any plans at the moment for development of wind farms or wave energy technology off the Nova Scotia coast, Parker said, but there are offshore wind and wave projects in other parts of the world, which means there is the potential it could be developed here.
Although there are experts who advise the government to be cautious as it tries to develop new energy opportunities offshore, Parker said things are happening quickly in the renewable energy business, which offers an opportunity to create a lot of employment in Nova Scotia.
"Within the next few months, we’ll have our tidal strategy fully completed and moving towards legislation probably by next spring. So, it is a step-by-step process to develop our industry.
"We have a lot of potential to produce energy from within the Bay of Fundy and from these other sources, but we also have the potential to develop an industry here — engineering, technology, supply and service industry, it all goes together."
The study concludes that some tidal power developers, particularly those using base structures designed to float, will likely plan to conduct some operations from ports such as Hantsport or Parrsboro, which are dry at low tide. Ramps or floating dry docks can be constructed to allow marine energy structures to be put floated in the same way boats are launched.
If future demand for offshore wind power generation is to be met, the consultants suggest that "significant production, assembly and deployment facilities will be required." And since it is difficult to transport large offshore foundations, manufacturing facilities would need to be created near "major coastal locations."
Parker said the private sector will develop the marine energy industry but government has a role to play.
"Our job is to be the regulator, to set up the framework that allows this technology to move forward."
He expects the federal and provincial governments to work together to establish one offshore regulator to oversee the development of this new industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment