Millions of dollars in subsidies for a Nova Scotia tidal
project is just one of the coming announcements as Ottawa boosts riskier forms
of renewable energy, says the federal natural resources minister.
Amarjeet Sohi said Friday at a G7 energy ministers meeting
that a $30-million contribution to a $117-million tidal project to harness the
immense power of the Bay of Fundy tides will be among a series of subsidies
given to kickstart innovations in emerging sectors across the country.
Tidal is one of the early investments coming out of the federal
Liberals' $200-million emerging renewable power program, which finished
collecting requests for proposals this spring and expects to select four to six
investments by the spring of 2019.
The program has received applications ranging from giant
offshore wind turbines and concentrated photovoltaic solar power projects to
large-scale geothermal energy projects in the West, say officials.
Meanwhile, the tidal announcement on the East Coast will be
watched closely to see if it can overcome the challenges faced in harnessing
the bay's powerful tides — which have already damaged early test turbines.
The project led by Irish-based DP Energy aims to have
turbines producing energy into the grid by 2020, producing enough electricity
for over 2,500 homes.
"This is an investment in the future," said Sohi
on the third day of meetings between environment, oceans and energy ministers,
when asked about the security of the $30 million in taxpayer investment.
"This is one announcement, and part of many other
announcements that we will be making in order to foster that innovation ... to
[tap] the potential that might otherwise go untapped if the government was
not there to support it."
Learning from the past
He likened the emerging tidal industry to the early days of
oil and gas, saying fossil fuels also might never have emerged without
government shouldering some of the risk.
Stephen Thomas, energy campaign co-ordinator of Halifax's
Ecology Action Centre, said in a telephone interview that environmental groups
support funding of the various offshore renewable projects — with some
cautions.
"Providing $30 million in support for this tidal
project is still a drop in the bucket compared to the subsidies received by the
fossil fuel sector, which receives hundreds of millions to billions annually
from the federal government, depending on the year," he said.
But he says it's crucial to ensure that the latest project
learns from mistakes of the past.
As we fund these projects, we always monitor these programs
very closely. We monitor the success of them- Natural Resources
Minister Amarjeet Sohi
"We hope that DP Energy takes seriously the very valid
concerns from Mi'kmaq communities and fishers," he said, referring to opposition
that arose over the potential risk to marine life from the Fundy turbines.
"If this turbine is going to be deployed in 2020
there's a lot of work to do first, in building relationships and improving
environmental monitoring."
The tidal project comes in the wake of some high-profile
struggles to make tidal projects work in the Bay of Fundy.
An Irish technical team has been working to determine why
the rotor on the Cape Sharp Tidal turbine is not turning.
Offshore renewables growing
Halifax-based Emera Inc., which was involved in the troubled
project, said this week that experts believe a component failure in the
generator caused sufficient damage to prevent the rotor from turning.
It says the turbine worked after it was after deployed in
July and that it's not yet clear when it malfunctioned.
Emera remains a shareholder in Cape Sharp Tidal, but
recently announced it was pulling out of the project after co-owner OpenHydro
filed for bankruptcy protection.
Sohi said his department has assessed the risks to taxpayer
dollars and will keep a careful eye on the experimental projects.
"As we fund these projects, we always monitor these
programs very closely. We monitor the success of them," he said.
During the G7 meeting, delegates also spoke of the emerging
potential of offshore wind energy as another option for Canada's coasts.
Paul Simons, the deputy executive director of the
International Energy Agency, told the G7 ministers that a recent study by his
research group indicates that offshore renewables are progressing quickly —
particularly offshore wind power.
"Offshore renewable electricity generation ... is
coming into a space of competitiveness," he said.
Simons told the ministers there are now fewer restrictions
on the size of the projects and the wind turbines have grown larger, even as
there are higher wind speeds offshore.
As a result, the power generated has been much steadier, and
overall production of offshore wind energy has gone from 3 gigawatts in 2010 to
17 gigawatts in 2017, almost all of it in the European Union.
"We are projecting that offshore ... could actually be
cheaper than onshore wind (energy) or solar (energy) by the year 2040,"
said the energy expert.
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