FORCE: Tidal Project Gains New Partner, Green Lights Plans for Observation Facility
Nova Scotia's tidal energy project welcomes new support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).FORCE (Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy) will receive $852,000 from ACOA’s Community Adjustment Fund to assist in the construction of the FORCE observation facility. The land-based facility will overlook the technology test site in the Minas Passage, about 10 kilometers west of the town of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.
"Most of the action at FORCE is underwater, but it would be hard to put an office in tides moving at five meters per second,” said John Woods, FORCE Chair and project leader for Minas Basin Pulp and Power. "The facility will give researchers a work space and allow visitors an opportunity to see the technology on display. We are grateful to have federal support to help make it happen.”
“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting communities and industries in Nova Scotia,” said Scott Armstrong, Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley. “Strategic investments in projects such as these that build on the clear advantages of an area contribute to the economic, social and cultural strength of Atlantic Canadian communities.”
The approximately 3500-square foot FORCE facility will house an operations and visitors centre, with educational tours, interpretive exhibits and models, and a community room. It will also offer lab space for on-site research work, with 8 independent Nova Scotia-based research projects already underway.
“Parrsboro is proud to host FORCE, and this building represents a strong link between residents and the tidal project community,” said Lois Smith, Mayor of Parrsboro and FORCE Community Liaison Committee Co-Chair. “It’s also a beautiful site, looking right across to Cape Split.”
The modular building can be completely disassembled and reconstructed, with other sustainable features that include passive solar heat gain in winter, high performance glazing and solar shading to help summer cooling, and storm water drainage and control. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.
Images:
Lois Smith (Mayor of Parrsboro, FORCE Community Liaison Committee Co-Chair) by the building site overlooking the Minas Passage test area
FORCE facility design
About FORCE
FORCE is Canada’s leading centre for in-stream tidal energy research and technology, located in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. FORCE is a public/private partnership that enables developers, regulators, scientists and academics to study the performance and interaction of tidal energy turbines with the Bay of Fundy environment. Estimates of the potential energy resource in the area range from 300 megawatts up to 2500 megawatts (enough to power about 800,000 homes).
Participants include Minas Basin Pulp and Power and their technology partner Marine Current Turbines, Nova Scotia Power with technology partner OpenHydro, ALSTOM with technology partner Clean Current Turbines, and the Province of Nova Scotia. FORCE is grateful for the funding support of partners that include the Government of Canada, the Province of Nova Scotia, and EnCana Corporation.
Minas Basin Pulp and Power leads the design and construction of the FORCE facility. In 2009, Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro launched first commercial-scale turbine in North America at FORCE.
More information is available at fundyforce.ca.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Beth Caldwell
Minas Basin Pulp and Power/FORCE
Tel: 902-684-1700
Cell: 902-680-5378
bcaldwell@minas.ns.ca
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