Moon power!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a sense, tidal power is really just a way of harnessing the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. Which basically makes all tidal power “moon power,” in the end. So let’s talk about moon power.

In Canada, all of our moon power occurs in the Bay of Fundy, where The Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) coordinates the province’s research on the subject. But the project does more than just research moon power: along with Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) CanmetENERGY organization, which is devoted to clean energy development, FORCE intends to demonstrate that moon power can have commercial applications. In fact, their newest project will have the potential to generate enough electricity to power 20,000 homes.

And moon power’s no pie in the sky project.

Built in the bay’s Minas Passage, the new facility will be implemented in three parts: first, a subsea cable in the summer of 2011; second, a Research and Visitors Centre in June 2011; and finally: the two turbines that power the facility in the summer of 2012. Then, it will use four submarine cables to deliver electricity to Nova Scotia’s power system. The project has already received $20 million in funding from Canada’s Clean Energy Fund.

Like a wind turbine, tidal turbines move as fluid passes through them, turning a generator that produces electricity. And, like wind turbines, tidal turbines come in a variety of shapes: even generators that look like snakes and kite-like creations. But it’s hardly the stuff of science fiction: NRCan has identified 190 moon power sites across the Canadian coasts, all of which have an estimated estimated capacity of 42,000 MW — more than 63 percent of the country’s annual total consumption!

For now, though, projects like CanmetENERGY and FORCE’s are mostly for research and demonstration. But if we can put a man on the moon, surely it won’t be long before we’ve got a little moon power too.

Via NRCan

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