Blue Energy Canada Inc. has entered the development phase of a turbine that uses the tide of the ocean to generate clean electricity.
Company officials haven’t yet said where they plan to locate the one-MW tidal bridge turbine. Once the turbine is in place, 10 more units will be built as the base model for a 200-MW ocean energy project, Blue Energy said.
Blue Energy’s tidal turbines are powered by ocean currents. What’s more, the design allows fish to pass through freely, the company said. The turbines generate a predictable amount of power and they are economical to build, install and maintain, Blue Energy said.
In addition to generating clean energy, Blue Energy’s tidal bridge turbine can provide a route across large bodies of water for cars and trucks or it can be used as a platform for offshore wind turbines. It can also support gas lines, phone lines or power lines, the company said.
In July, the company partnered with World Energy Research of New Zealand to obtain an undisclosed amount of financing for the project. (HydroWorld 7/8/09)
“After exhaustive research, World Energy Research found several companies capable of producing small amounts of energy, but none on the scale of Blue Energy’s Davis Tidal Turbine, which was developed specifically to harness tidal power on a large scale,” said Chad Willis, managing director of the research organization.