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 By Daron Threet & Larry Eisenstat
On April 28th, 2010, the federal government approved the Cape Wind project after nine years of regulatory review. The significance of the Cape Wind approval cannot be overstated, as the project is now poised to become the first large-scale offshore renewable energy project operating in the United States (www.capewind.org). But, from a project planning, permitting, and development perspective, the exceedingly drawn-out, almost decade-long review of Cape Wind was simply too long, too uncertain, and too costly for most developers and investors to endure. Simply put: unless meaningful steps are taken to streamline review processes of offshore renewable projects, the regulatory risk going forward may be too high to support widespread growth in the industry.
This regulatory risk is perhaps even more evident for hydrokinetic projects (e.g., wave and tidal), which trail behind offshore wind from a technology perspective. Unlike offshore wind, the hydrokinetic industry does not have arrays of utility scale facilities like those found in Europe and elsewhere to provide, at the very least, a foundational understanding of the operational, environmental, and other impacts of these technologies to support the regulatory review and approval of new projects. |
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 The project
New Energy, along with its partner Canoe Pass Tidal Energy Corporation, is in the process of implementing the first grid-connected tidal energy project in Canada. The Canoe Pass Tidal Commercialization Project, or Canoe Pass as it is more commonly referred, represents many firsts for tidal energy within British Columbia (BC) and Canada as a whole. The 500 kW project is currently in the permitting stage and is expected to be installed in the second half of 2010.
Location, location, location
Canoe Pass is a narrow passage between Quadra and Maude Islands off the east coast of Vancouver Island, just north of Campbell River, BC. The flow within the passage is currently blocked by a barrage that was constructed by the federal Department of Public Works in 1942 to deal with a navigable hazard, Ripple Rock, which was located in Seymour Narrows—directly west of Canoe Pass. The causeway was used to transport men and equipment from Quadra Island onto Maude Island in order to drill under Seymour Narrows and blow-up Ripple Rock. Ripple Rock was blown up in 1958 with the largest peacetime non-nuclear explosion in history.
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 By Jeremy Martin
While solar and wind remain at the forefront of most renewable energy discussions, another form of power generation is emerging that has the potential to be a significant source of energy: osmotic power.
Osmotic power is created through the natural phenomenon of osmosis. When two fluid streams of varying salt content—such as low-salinity river water and high-salinity ocean water—meet on either side of a membrane, osmosis causes the less salty water to be drawn toward the seawater side. The membrane blocks the salt, allowing only fresh water to flow through. This creates a pressure on the seawater side that can be used to drive a turbine to generate electricity.
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