A Lion’s Bay-based company is aiming to make a big splash in the world’s tidal energy industry.
On Friday, Oct.17, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP John Weston was at the Sea to Sky Gondola to hand Water Wall Turbine Inc. a $1.5 million cheque. The federal government’s Clean Energy Fund grant will help the local company launch its demonstration project at Dent Island north of Campbell River.
WWTurbine want to build a giant turbine on a barge-like structure that floats on the surface of the water. The 200 tonne structure can extract up to 10 megawatts of power, the company’s vice president Russell Baker said. The company anticipates the system will be able to deliver power to the grid at a cost of between six to ten cents per kilowatt-hour.
The company has tested a prototype in South Africa and is now two-and-a-half months away from starting its project in Canada, Baker said. Officials expect to have a contract with a Lower Mainland shipyard in the coming weeks. Once the turbine is built it will be tested either near Lions Bay in Vancouver Harbour before being transported north to its new home.
“We started [the project] seven years ago,” Baker said. “It took us a long time to get the initial investment together.”
Since 2006, the federal government has invested more than $10 billion in green infrastructure, Weston said. This project is proof Canada is an important player in the global race for environmentally friendly power sources, Weston said. It will put Canada at the forefront of tidal energy harvesting technology, he said.
“The clean technology sector is an important economic driver for the Canadian economy, employing more than 52,000 Canadians in more than 700 companies across Canada,” Weston said.
