Comment by xattt
2 days ago
> Canada
The Annapolis Royal Tidal Station shut down 5 years ago, because it had a strong tendency to chop up all and any fish that went through the intake.
2 days ago
> Canada
The Annapolis Royal Tidal Station shut down 5 years ago, because it had a strong tendency to chop up all and any fish that went through the intake.
The Annapolis looks like a fundamentally different design: direct turbine driving instead of low-speed / high-torque windmill design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxCPXLv--U4&t=71s
Yes, the Annapolis station was conceptually very much like a hydroelectric dam generator. When the tide was coming in sluice gates were opened to allow a reservoir to fill, then when the tide was going out the water was sent through a high-speed turbine.
It's unlikely that Nova Scotia will see tidal power again in the near future. There's been some attempts at in-stream generation, but the projects have been opposed by the local fisheries, and the federal regulators don't seem interested in helping define the requirements.
Plus a newer one off Vancouver island BC shut down after a couple years because its operating costs made it economically infeasible. Had to get fixed and upgraded a few times. Which I why the maintenance thing in the headline is probably relevant.