Exelon has told federal regulators that, by making distribution companies responsible for functions beyond their control, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation has proposed unfair reliability obligations for distributors in areas with retail choice.
Exelon told the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that NERC's recently proposed rules ignore that distribution providers do not have "control of required information about the loads" served by load-serving entities. NERC has proposed to FERC that in terms of reliability compliance, distribution companies be treated as LSEs in areas with retail choice.
NERC said the rule is meant to address the reliability gap that would result if there is no LSE registered on its compliance registry on behalf of end-use customer load that retail power marketers served.
NERC proposed the rule as a short-term solution while it works on a long-term plan to address the gap.
Exelon complained to FERC, however, that as distribution provider it would have to gather information from LSEs and relay it to system operators in order to comply with the proposed rule.
"It is unfair and impractical to hold the (distribution providers) accountable for compliance with standards for sharing data and information that is under the direct control of the (LSEs)," Exelon said. "NERC acknowledges that DPs would have to get the information from the LSEs but has offered no countervailing facts or policy benefits for its position that Dps should be held accountable for providing information that they do not directly control."
NERC made a compliance filing with FERC in late July amending its criteria for entities listed on its compliance registry. NERC proposed "to require the distribution provider to whose system the electric loads in retail-choice areas are connected to be registered as the LSE for all loads connected to its system for the purpose of compliance with NERC's approved reliability standards applicable to LSEs."
Exelon said that certain information is in the possession of LSEs and not distribution companies. Exelon also complained that NERC ignores that distribution providers do not have control over LSEs serving load connected to their systems, cannot ensure compliance with the standards and should not be held accountable for compliance that they cannot control.
NERC responded that distribution companies provide the wires over which the retail power marketer load is served, and "in fact, have both the infrastructure and access to information to enable them to comply with the LSE reliability standards."
Exelon cited the example that only LSEs, and not the DP, has the monthly peak-hour forecast demands for the next two years for the LSE's customers" needed to comply with certain NERC rules. Exelon said it cannot guarantee compliance on behalf of the LSE.
Detroit Edison utility also protested the rules, saying both DPs and retail power marketers perform some, but not all, functions assigned to LSEs.
"Simply shifting all LSE responsibility to distribution providers, as proposed by NERC, does nothing to solve this problem, Detroit Ed said. "It merely discriminates against one group of entities (the distribution providers) to the advantage of another group of entities (the retail power marketers), and will lead, at best, to incomplete compliance."
Ontario COVID-19 Business Tax Relief outlines permanent Employer Health Tax exemptions, lower Business Education Tax rates, optional municipal property tax cuts, and hydro bill subsidies to support small businesses, industrial and commercial recovery.
Key Points
A provincial package of tax breaks and hydro subsidies to help small, industrial, and commercial businesses recover.
✅ Permanent Employer Health Tax exemption to $1M payroll
✅ Lower Business Education Tax rates for 94% of firms
✅ Hydro subsidies cut medium-large rates by 14-16%
The Ontario government's latest plan to help businesses survive and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic includes a suite of new tax breaks for small businesses and $1.3 billion to subsidize electricity bills for industrial and commercial operations.
The new measures were announced Thursday as part of Ontario's 2020 budget, which sets new provincial records for both spending and deficit projections.
The government of Premier Doug Ford says the budget will address barriers impeding long-term growth, ensuring the province forges a path to a full recovery from the pandemic.
"When the pandemic is over, Ontario will come back with a vengeance, stronger and more prosperous than ever before," Ford said at an afternoon news conference.
Small businesses with payrolls under $1 million will no longer have to pay the Employer Health Tax. The province temporarily raised the exemption from $490,000 to $1 million earlier this year, but the government is now making the change permanent.
The higher exemption means that about 90 per cent of Ontario businesses will no longer have to pay the tax, amounting to about $360 million by 2022, according to the province.
"We have heard from employers across Ontario that this measure helped them keep workers on the job during COVID-19," Finance Minister Rod Phillips told the legislature.
The 2020 budget lowers rates for the Business Education Tax (BET), a property tax earmarked for public education. More than 200,000 Ontario businesses, or 94 per cent, will see a lower rate.
"I believe this budget takes some significant initial steps to help stabilize the economy and help businesses, especially small businesses," said Toronto Mayor John Tory in a statement. Tory's office estimates that reductions to the BET will result in $117 million in lower taxes for commercial properties in Canada's largest city.
Municipal governments will also be permitted to reduce property taxes for small businesses, should they choose to do so. The province says it will "consider matching these reductions," which could amount to $385 million in tax relief by 2023.
Finance Minister Rod Phillips tabled the largest spending plan in Ontario history on Thursday afternoon. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press) Municipalities currently have few options to provide targeted relief to local businesses. Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, chair of Ontario's Big City Mayors, said the prospect of lowering property taxes will likely be welcomed by local governments across the province.
"I really am looking forward to looking into that because it would give targeted relief to these businesses that have been asking for something from local governments for the past nine months," he said in an interview.
Tax cuts 'won't help a boarded up business,' NDP says The 2020 budget does not contain any new direct funding for small businesses or their employees. NDP leader Andrea Horwath, who has proposed to make hydro public again, said those types of funding would help businesses more than potential tax reductions.
"A future hydro or tax cut won't help a boarded up business and it certainly won't help the folks that used to work there," Horwath said.
"Those measures are great if you're a company that's doing really well ... but let's face it, main streets across Ontario are crumbling."
Ontario did reveal on Thursday more details about a previously announced $300-million fund to support businesses in Toronto, Ottawa, Peel Region and York Region, which were placed under modified Stage 2 restrictions this fall. The money can be used to cover property taxes and energy bills for eligible businesses.
An undetermined amount of the $300 million will also be made available to businesses that are placed under "control" and "lockdown" rules, which are the two most severe restrictions in the province's updated reopening guidelines announced in October.
No regions are currently under these restrictions.
Government to subsidize hydro bills for industrial businesses The Ford government, which earlier oversaw a Hydro One leadership overhaul, is also taking aim at what it calls "job-killing electricity prices" in Ontario's industrial and commercial sectors.
The budget includes a $1.3 billion investment over three years to subsidize their hydro bills, a move praised by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters as supportive of industry, which the province says have been inflated due to contracts signed by the previous Liberal government to purchase electricity generated by wind, solar and bioenergy.
"This is the legacy that is making our businesses uncompetitive," Phillips told reporters Thursday afternoon.
Ontario says its $1.3-billion investment to subsidize electricity bills will offset expensive contracts for green energy signed by the previous Liberal government. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via Associated Press) The investment will lower rates for medium- and large-sized business by between 14 and 16 per cent, and follows an OEB decision on Hydro One rates that affects transmission and distribution costs, according to Ontario's calculations. Phillips said those rates will be among the lowest of any jurisdiction in the Great Lakes region.
The provincial government said the investment is necessary for Ontario to recover from the COVID-19 downturn. The Ford government expects that no further subsidies will be required by around 2040.
Philippsburg Demolition Delay: EnBW postpones controlled cooling-tower blasts amid the coronavirus pandemic, affecting decommissioning timelines in Baden-Wurttemberg and grid expansion for a transformer station to route renewable power and secure supply in southern Germany.
Key Points
EnBW's COVID-19 delay of Philippsburg cooling-tower blasts, affecting decommissioning and grid plans.
✅ Controlled detonation shifted to mid-May at earliest
✅ Demolition links to transformer station for north-south grid
✅ Supports security of supply in southern Germany
German energy company EnBW said the coronavirus outbreak has impacted plans to dismantle its Philippsburg nuclear power plant in Baden-Wurttemberg, southwest Germany, amid plans to phase out coal and nuclear nationally.
The controlled detonation of Phillipsburg's cooling towers will now take place in mid-May at the earliest, subject to coordination as Germany debates whether to reconsider its nuclear phaseout in light of supply needs.
However, EnBW said the exact demolition date depends on many factors - including the further development in the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing climate policy debates about energy choices.
Philippsburg 2, a 1402MWe pressurised water reactor unit permanently shut down on 31 December 2019, as part of Germany's broader effort to shut down its remaining reactors over time.
At the end of 2019, the Ministry of the Environment gave basic approval for decommissioning and dismantling of unit 2 of the Philippsburg nuclear power plant, inluding explosive demolition of the colling towers. Since then EnBW has worked intensively on getting all the necessary formal steps on the way and performing technical and logistical preparatory work, even as discussions about a potential nuclear resurgence continue nationwide.
“The demolition of the cooling towers is directly related to future security of supply in southern Germany. We therefore feel obliged to drive this project forward," said Jörg Michels head of the EnBW nuclear power division.
The timely removal of the cooling towers is important as the area currently occupied by nuclear plant components is needed for a transformer station for long-distance power lines, an issue underscored during the energy crisis when Germany temporarily extended nuclear power to bolster supply. These will transport electricity from renewable sources in the north to industrial centres in the south.
As of early 2020, there six nuclear reactors in operation in Germany, even as the country turned its back on nuclear in subsequent years. According to research institute Fraunhofer ISE, nuclear power provided about 14% of Germany's net electricity in 2019, less than half of the figure for 2000.
Ontario EV Battery Separator Plant anchors Canada's EV supply chain, with Asahi Kasei producing lithium-ion battery separators in Niagara Region to support Honda's Alliston assembly, clean transportation growth, and sustainable manufacturing jobs.
Key Points
Asahi Kasei's Niagara Region plant makes lithium-ion battery separators supplying Honda's EV factory in Ontario.
✅ Starts up by 2027 to align with Honda EV output timeline.
✅ Backed by clean tech tax credits and public investment.
✅ Boosts local jobs, R&D, and clean transportation leadership.
The automotive industry is undergoing a seismic shift, and Canada is firmly planting its flag in the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, propelled by recent EV assembly deals across the country. A new $1.6 billion battery component plant in Ontario's Niagara Region signifies a significant step towards a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future. This Asahi Kasei facility, a key player in Honda's $15 billion electric vehicle supply chain investment, promises to create jobs, boost the local economy, and solidify Ontario's position as a leader in clean transportation technology.
Honda's ambitious project forms part of Honda's Ontario EV investment that involves constructing a dedicated battery plant adjacent to their existing Alliston, Ontario assembly facility. This new plant will focus on producing fully electric vehicles, requiring a robust supply chain for critical components. Asahi Kasei's Niagara Region plant enters the picture here, specializing in the production of battery separators – a thin film crucial for separating the positive and negative electrodes within a lithium-ion battery. These separators play a vital role in ensuring the battery functions safely and efficiently.
The Niagara Region plant is expected to be operational by 2 027, perfectly aligning with Honda's EV production timeline. This strategic partnership benefits both companies: Honda secures a reliable source for a vital component, while Asahi Kasei capitalizes on the burgeoning demand for EV parts. The project is a catalyst for economic growth in Ontario, creating jobs in construction and manufacturing, supporting an EV jobs boom province-wide, and potentially future research and development sectors. Additionally, it positions the province as a hub for clean transportation technology, attracting further investment and fostering innovation.
This announcement isn't an isolated event. News of Volkswagen constructing a separate EV battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, and the continuation of a major EV battery project near Montreal further underscore Canada's commitment to electric vehicles. These developments signify a clear shift in the country's automotive landscape, with a focus on sustainable solutions.
Government support has undoubtedly played a crucial role in attracting these investments. The Honda deal involves up to $5 billion in public funds. Asahi Kasei's Niagara Region plant is also expected to benefit from federal and provincial clean technology tax credits. This demonstrates a collaborative effort between government and industry, including investments by Canada and Quebec in battery assembly, to foster a thriving EV ecosystem in Canada.
The economic and environmental benefits of this project are undeniable. Battery production is expected to create thousands of jobs, while the shift towards electric vehicles will lead to reduced emissions and a cleaner environment. Ontario stands to gain significantly from this transition, becoming a leader in clean energy technology and attracting skilled workers and businesses catering to the EV sector, especially as the U.S. auto pivot to EVs accelerates across the border.
However, challenges remain. Concerns about the environmental impact of battery production, particularly the sourcing of raw materials and the potential for hazardous waste, need to be addressed. Additionally, ensuring a skilled workforce capable of handling the complexities of EV technology is paramount.
Despite these challenges, the future of electric vehicles in Canada appears bright. Major automakers are making significant investments, government support is growing, and consumer interest in EVs is on the rise. The Niagara Region plant serves as a tangible symbol of Canada's commitment to a cleaner and more sustainable transportation future. With careful planning and continued Canada-U.S. collaboration across the sector, this project has the potential to revolutionize the Canadian automotive industry and pave the way for a greener tomorrow.
Foote Creek I Wind Farm Repowering upgrades Wyoming turbines with new nacelles, towers, and blades, cutting 68 units to 12 while sustaining 41.6 MW, under PacifiCorp and Rocky Mountain Power's Energy Vision 2020 plan.
Key Points
Replacement at Foote Creek Rim I, cutting to 12 turbines while sustaining about 41.6 MW using modern 2-4.2 MW units.
✅ 12 turbines replace 68, output steady near 41.6 MW
✅ New nacelles, towers, blades; taller 500 ft turbines
✅ Part of PacifiCorp Energy Vision 2020 and Gateway West
A Wyoming utility company has filed a permit to replace its first wind farm—originally commissioned in 1998, composed of over 65 turbines—amid new gas capacity competing with nuclear in Ohio, located at Foote Creek Rim I. The replacement would downsize the number of turbines to 12, which would still generate roughly the same energy output.
According to the Star Tribune, PacifiCorp’s new installation would involve new nacelles, new towers and new blades. The permit was filed with Carbon County.
New WY Wind Farm
The replacement wind turbines will stand more than twice as tall as the old: Those currently installed stand 200 feet tall, whereas their replacements will tower closer to 500 feet. Though this move is part of the company’s overall plan to expand its state wind fleet as some utilities respond to declining coal returns in the Midwest, the work going into the Foote Creek site is somewhat special, noted David Eskelsen, spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power, the western arm of PacifiCorp.
“Foote Creek I repowering is somewhat different from the repowering projects announced in the (Energy Vision) 2020 initiative,” he said. “Foote Creek is a complete replacement of the existing 68 foundations, towers, turbine nacelles and rotors (blades).”
Currently, the turbines at Foote Creek have 600 kilowatts capacity each; the replacements’ maximum production ranges from 2 megawatts to 4.2 megawatts each, with the total output remaining steady at 41.4 megawatts, a scale similar to a 30-megawatt wind expansion in Eastern Kings, though there will be a slight capacity increase to 41.6 megawatts, according to the Star Tribune.
As part of the wind farm repowering initiative, PacifiCorp is to become full owner and operator of the Foote Creek site. When the farm was originally built, an Oregon-based water and electric board was 21 percent owner; 37 percent of the project’s output was tied into a contract with the Bonneville Power Administration.
Otherwise, PacifiCorp is moving to further expand its state wind fleet in line with initiatives like doubling renewable electricity by 2030 in Saskatchewan, with the addition of three new wind farms—to be located in Carbon, Albany and Converse counties—which may add up to 1,150 megawatts of power.
According to PacifiCorp, the company has more than 1,000 megawatts of owned wind generation capability, along with long-term purchase agreements for more than 600 megawatts from other wind farms owned by other entities. Energy Vision 2020 refers to a $3.5 billion investment and company move that is looking to upgrade the company's existing wind fleet with newer technology, adding 1,150 megawatts of new wind resources by 2020 and a a new 140-mile Gateway West transmission segment in Wyoming, comparable to a transmission project in Missouri just energized.
ITER Nuclear Fusion advances tokamak magnetic confinement, heating deuterium-tritium plasma with superconducting magnets, targeting net energy gain, tritium breeding, and steam-turbine power, while complementing laser inertial confinement milestones for grid-scale electricity and 2025 startup goals.
Key Points
ITER Nuclear Fusion is a tokamak project confining D-T plasma with magnets to achieve net energy gain and clean power.
✅ Tokamak magnetic confinement with high-temp superconducting coils
✅ Deuterium-tritium fuel cycle with on-site tritium breeding
✅ Targets net energy gain and grid-scale, low-carbon electricity
It sounds like the stuff of dreams: a virtually limitless source of energy that doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or radioactive waste. That’s the promise of nuclear fusion, often described as the holy grail of clean energy by proponents, which for decades has been nothing more than a fantasy due to insurmountable technical challenges. But things are heating up in what has turned into a race to create what amounts to an artificial sun here on Earth, one that can provide power for our kettles, cars and light bulbs.
Today’s nuclear power plants create electricity through nuclear fission, in which atoms are split, with next-gen nuclear power exploring smaller, cheaper, safer designs that remain distinct from fusion. Nuclear fusion however, involves combining atomic nuclei to release energy. It’s the same reaction that’s taking place at the Sun’s core. But overcoming the natural repulsion between atomic nuclei and maintaining the right conditions for fusion to occur isn’t straightforward. And doing so in a way that produces more energy than the reaction consumes has been beyond the grasp of the finest minds in physics for decades.
But perhaps not for much longer. Some major technical challenges have been overcome in the past few years and governments around the world have been pouring money into fusion power research as part of a broader green industrial revolution under way in several regions. There are also over 20 private ventures in the UK, US, Europe, China and Australia vying to be the first to make fusion energy production a reality.
“People are saying, ‘If it really is the ultimate solution, let’s find out whether it works or not,’” says Dr Tim Luce, head of science and operation at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), being built in southeast France. ITER is the biggest throw of the fusion dice yet.
Its $22bn (£15.9bn) build cost is being met by the governments of two-thirds of the world’s population, including the EU, the US, China and Russia, at a time when Europe is losing nuclear power and needs energy, and when it’s fired up in 2025 it’ll be the world’s largest fusion reactor. If it works, ITER will transform fusion power from being the stuff of dreams into a viable energy source.
Constructing a nuclear fusion reactor ITER will be a tokamak reactor – thought to be the best hope for fusion power. Inside a tokamak, a gas, often a hydrogen isotope called deuterium, is subjected to intense heat and pressure, forcing electrons out of the atoms. This creates a plasma – a superheated, ionised gas – that has to be contained by intense magnetic fields.
The containment is vital, as no material on Earth could withstand the intense heat (100,000,000°C and above) that the plasma has to reach so that fusion can begin. It’s close to 10 times the heat at the Sun’s core, and temperatures like that are needed in a tokamak because the gravitational pressure within the Sun can’t be recreated.
When atomic nuclei do start to fuse, vast amounts of energy are released. While the experimental reactors currently in operation release that energy as heat, in a fusion reactor power plant, the heat would be used to produce steam that would drive turbines to generate electricity, even as some envision nuclear beyond electricity for industrial heat and fuels.
Tokamaks aren’t the only fusion reactors being tried. Another type of reactor uses lasers to heat and compress a hydrogen fuel to initiate fusion. In August 2021, one such device at the National Ignition Facility, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, generated 1.35 megajoules of energy. This record-breaking figure brings fusion power a step closer to net energy gain, but most hopes are still pinned on tokamak reactors rather than lasers.
In June 2021, China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor maintained a plasma for 101 seconds at 120,000,000°C. Before that, the record was 20 seconds. Ultimately, a fusion reactor would need to sustain the plasma indefinitely – or at least for eight-hour ‘pulses’ during periods of peak electricity demand.
A real game-changer for tokamaks has been the magnets used to produce the magnetic field. “We know how to make magnets that generate a very high magnetic field from copper or other kinds of metal, but you would pay a fortune for the electricity. It wouldn’t be a net energy gain from the plant,” says Luce.
One route for nuclear fusion is to use atoms of deuterium and tritium, both isotopes of hydrogen. They fuse under incredible heat and pressure, and the resulting products release energy as heat
The solution is to use high-temperature, superconducting magnets made from superconducting wire, or ‘tape’, that has no electrical resistance. These magnets can create intense magnetic fields and don’t lose energy as heat.
“High temperature superconductivity has been known about for 35 years. But the manufacturing capability to make tape in the lengths that would be required to make a reasonable fusion coil has just recently been developed,” says Luce. One of ITER’s magnets, the central solenoid, will produce a field of 13 tesla – 280,000 times Earth’s magnetic field.
The inner walls of ITER’s vacuum vessel, where the fusion will occur, will be lined with beryllium, a metal that won’t contaminate the plasma much if they touch. At the bottom is the divertor that will keep the temperature inside the reactor under control.
“The heat load on the divertor can be as large as in a rocket nozzle,” says Luce. “Rocket nozzles work because you can get into orbit within minutes and in space it’s really cold.” In a fusion reactor, a divertor would need to withstand this heat indefinitely and at ITER they’ll be testing one made out of tungsten.
Meanwhile, in the US, the National Spherical Torus Experiment – Upgrade (NSTX-U) fusion reactor will be fired up in the autumn of 2022, while efforts in advanced fission such as a mini-reactor design are also progressing. One of its priorities will be to see whether lining the reactor with lithium helps to keep the plasma stable.
Choosing a fuel Instead of just using deuterium as the fusion fuel, ITER will use deuterium mixed with tritium, another hydrogen isotope. The deuterium-tritium blend offers the best chance of getting significantly more power out than is put in. Proponents of fusion power say one reason the technology is safe is that the fuel needs to be constantly fed into the reactor to keep fusion happening, making a runaway reaction impossible.
Deuterium can be extracted from seawater, so there’s a virtually limitless supply of it. But only 20kg of tritium are thought to exist worldwide, so fusion power plants will have to produce it (ITER will develop technology to ‘breed’ tritium). While some radioactive waste will be produced in a fusion plant, it’ll have a lifetime of around 100 years, rather than the thousands of years from fission.
At the time of writing in September, researchers at the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion reactor in Oxfordshire were due to start their deuterium-tritium fusion reactions. “JET will help ITER prepare a choice of machine parameters to optimise the fusion power,” says Dr Joelle Mailloux, one of the scientific programme leaders at JET. These parameters will include finding the best combination of deuterium and tritium, and establishing how the current is increased in the magnets before fusion starts.
The groundwork laid down at JET should accelerate ITER’s efforts to accomplish net energy gain. ITER will produce ‘first plasma’ in December 2025 and be cranked up to full power over the following decade. Its plasma temperature will reach 150,000,000°C and its target is to produce 500 megawatts of fusion power for every 50 megawatts of input heating power.
“If ITER is successful, it’ll eliminate most, if not all, doubts about the science and liberate money for technology development,” says Luce. That technology development will be demonstration fusion power plants that actually produce electricity, where advanced reactors can build on decades of expertise. “ITER is opening the door and saying, yeah, this works – the science is there.”
Bay of Fundy Tidal Energy advances as Nova Scotia permits Jupiter Hydro to test floating barge platforms with helical turbines in Minas Passage, supporting renewable power, grid-ready pilots, and green jobs in rural communities.
Key Points
A Nova Scotia tidal energy project using helical turbines to generate clean power and create local jobs.
✅ Permits enable 1-2 MW prototypes near Minas Passage
✅ Floating barge platforms with patented helical turbines
✅ PPA at $0.50/kWh with Nova Scotia Power
An Alberta-based company has been granted permission to try to harness electricity from the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy.
Nova Scotia has issued two renewable energy permits to Jupiter Hydro.
Backers have long touted the massive energy potential of Fundy's tides -- they are among the world's most powerful -- but large-scale commercial efforts to harness them have borne little fruit so far, even as a Scottish tidal project recently generated enough power to supply nearly 4,000 homes elsewhere.
The Jupiter application says it will use three "floating barge type platforms" carrying its patented technology. The company says it uses helical turbines mounted as if they were outboard motors.
"Having another company test their technology in the Bay of Fundy shows that this early-stage industry continues to grow and create green jobs in our rural communities," Energy and Mines Minister Derek Mombourquette said in a statement.
The first permit allows the company to test a one-megawatt prototype that is not connected to the electricity grid.
The second -- a five-year permit for up to two megawatts -- is renewable if the company meets performance standards, environmental requirements and community engagement conditions.
Mombourquette also authorized a power purchase agreement that allows the company to sell the electricity it generates to the Nova Scotia grid through Nova Scotia Power for 50 cents per kilowatt hour.
On its web site, Jupiter says it believes its approach "will prove to be the most cost effective marine energy conversion technology in the world," even as other regional utilities consider initiatives like NB Power's Belledune concept for turning seawater into electricity.
The one megawatt unit would have screws which are about 5.5 metres in diameter.
The project is required to obtain all other necessary approvals, permits and authorizations.
It will be located near the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy in the Minas Passage and will use existing electricity grid connections.
A study commissioned by the Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia says by 2040, the tidal energy industry could contribute up to $1.7 billion to Nova Scotia's gross domestic product and create up to 22,000 full-time jobs, a transition that some argue should be planned by an independent body to ensure reliability.
Last month, Nova Scotia Power said it now generates 30 per cent of its power from renewables, as the province moves to increase wind and solar projects after abandoning the Atlantic Loop.
The utility says 18 per cent came from wind turbines, nine per cent from hydroelectric and tidal turbines and three per cent by burning biomass across its fleet.
However, over half of the province's electrical generation still comes from the burning of coal or petroleum coke, even as environmental advocates push to reduce biomass use in the mix. Another 13 per cent come from burning natural gas and five per cent from imports.
