Marine

Marine Renewables in Canada

December 4, 2013 by Paul Stainer No Comments | Category Marine Directorate Science, Marine Renewables

In November, Ian Davies joined an SDI mission to the annual meeting of Marine Renewables Canada in Ottawa.  The trail had already been blazed by Phil Gilmour and Rob Watret who had visited Ottawa in the last couple of years.  Canada has considerable potential for marine renewables, with wave power in the west and the huge tides available in the Bay of Fundy.  However, Scotland is much further down the road, with planning and licensing functions organised, a working test centre, and commercial projects coming forward for licensing.

Highlights of the event were:

•             The enthusiasm of the Nova Scotia Energy Minister for tidal power

•             The strong desire of NS Government and researchers to collaborate with Scotland

•             The parallels between their concerns over striped bass and ours over salmon

•             The strong emphasis on community-scale renewables projects in a national climate dominated by oil, coal and hydro power.

I hope that there will be a delegation from Canada at the EIMR conference in Stornoway in April/May next year.

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