Abstract
Tidal energy has the potential to substantially advance future sustainable development. Tidal energy is a renewable energy resource that helps meet the continuously increasing global energy demand, while producing very little greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to other traditional energy sources (fossil fuels, coal, oil , etc.). In-stream tidal turbines placed under the ocean surface extract energy from the rise and fall of the tides. Tidal energy has attracted considerable attention, particularly in areas where tidal ranges are particularly high. The Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia has the world's highest tidal range, making it an ideal location to develop tidal energy projects. Several tidal energy development projects are authorized for development at the Bay of Fundy.
Although there are many positive attributes of tidal energy, the tidal energy extraction has the potential to adversely affect the local environment and disturb natural ecosystems, including coastal habitat destruction, wildlife habitat fragmentation, and marine animal injury. The negative effects of marine energy extraction have been identified; however there is less consideration of implementation of the multiple tidal energy extraction projects on the Bay of Fundy environment in current study. A review of scientific literature concerning tidal energy extraction was conducted to assess potential negative impacts of Bay of Fundy tidal power development on the environment.
The report provides a comprehensive review on the potential environmental impacts of tidal energy extraction at the Bay of Fundy while considering further climate change and sea level rise, and provides a recommendation framework to mitigate these adverse effects. The Bay of Fundy tidal energy extraction process will lead to coastal habitat destruction and long-term suspended sediment concentration reduction. The construction and operation of turbine devices will generate noise, light and thermal pollution, release toxic chemicals to surrounding water and cause magnetic field distortion. Also, the combined influences of past, present and future tidal energy extraction and Earth's natural processes will result in more serious environmental harms; and the interaction among greater will potentially lead to greater i interruption on the local environment and intensify injury and mortality of coastal animals and seabirds.
This report also provides a recommendation framework relevant to the Bay of Fundy tidal energy extraction, mainly including energy appliances enhancement, monitoring machinery establishment and regulatory agencies creation. Optimizing the blade shape, avoiding application of Cu-contains coating and applying seabird-friendly lights to mitigate the negative impacts. Building up rescue stations, establishing fully functional protected areas, and conducting soil remediation to restore the disturbed ecosystem.