Cape Sharp Tidal — which is a partnership of OpenHydro and Emera — plans on building the huge turbines to “harness” the tides!! Stop them from destroying our Home!!

The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine.

The specific size of the bay helps create the world's most extreme tides. Water levels rise and fall by as much as 48 feet every day when 100 billion tons of seawater crash into the shore. (http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/canada/bay-of-fundy-new-brunswick-nova-scotia/)

The Bay itself is home to thousands of different varieties of Marine life and migratory whales and birds.
The mother company, Cape Sharp Tidal — which is a partnership of OpenHydro and Emera — plans on building the huge turbines to “harness” the tides and to promote a cheaper source of energy for the province and for outlying provinces/countries. Similar projects have been seen off the coastal waters of Ireland, and as close to home as the Annapolis River Tidal Power Plant.

The Annapolis Royal Generating Station is a 20 MW tidal power station located on the Annapolis River immediately upstream from the town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the only tidal generating station in North America. The generating station harnesses the tidal difference created by the large tides in the Annapolis Basin, a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy. Opened in 1984, the Annapolis Royal Generating Station was constructed by Nova Scotia Power Corporation, which was, at the time, a provincial government Crown corporation that was frequently used to socially benefit various areas in the province. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapolis_Royal_Generating_Station).

Tidal harnesses to generate electricity had been under discussion for the Bay of Fundy and its various sub-basins for several decades. The decision to build the facility was partly prompted by the promise of federal funding for this alternative energy project, as well as the provincial requirement of the Department of Transportation to replace an aging steel truss bridge over the river between Annapolis Royal and Granville Ferry. The resulting rock-filled dam carries Trunk 1 across the river, as well as housing the power house and sluice gates. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapolis_Royal_Generating_Station

Harm to the environment:
The project has had mixed results. While effectively generating electricity, the blocking of water flow by the dam (to allow the tidal difference to accumulate every six hours) has resulted in increased river bank erosion on both the upstream and downstream ends. The dam is also known as a trap for marine life.

Two notable cases occurred in:

August 2004, when a mature Humpback whale (nicknamed Sluice) swam through the open sluice gate at slack tide, ending up trapped for several days in the upper part of the river before eventually finding its way out to the Annapolis Basin.

Spring 2008, when the body of an immature Humpback whale was discovered near the head of tide in the river at Bridgetown; a post-mortem was inconclusive but suggested the whale had become trapped in the river after following fish through the sluice gates.

With the installation of these turbines we will see a decline in migratory species as their waters are disrupted and destroyed by these vast turbines. All for the sake of saving a buck. When is the last time anyone living on the Annapolis River witnessed edible mussels? Dug safe to eat Clams? Or have caught any Atlantic Sturgeon, Striped Bass, adult American Eel, or inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon? Instead we are left with silt and muck and an empty river that many will not even swim in anymore. Thank you Annapolis Tidal plant for destroying our river.

Please do not let these Turbines destroy the Bay of Fundy as well.



Picture Retrieved from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bay-of-fundy-turbine-cape-sharp-tidal-energy-electricity-1.3590200


This is a screen grab of animation from OpenHydro, which shows the turbine being lowered onto the floor of the Bay of Fundy. (OpenHydro). Taken from article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bay-of-fundy-turbine-cape-sharp-tidal-energy-electricity-1.3590200

“Their TRITON S40 uses 40 smaller turbines, each about four metres in diameter, and is expected to generate 2.5 megawatts.” (Bissett, kevin. The Canadian Press. May 19, 2016).
"Because the TRITON can be easily brought to the surface it allows for easy maintenance access. The use of multiple small turbines together with TRITON's maintenance approach reduces both capital and maintenance costs," said Nils Hirsch, general manager of Black Rock Tidal Power.” (Bissett, kevin. The Canadian Press. May 19, 2016).

Are these what you want to see in your Bay of Fundy? What safety for aquatic life is being employed here except for the people that are employed by these companies? None. (http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1366186-fishermen-launch-petition-to-halt-bay-of-fundy-tidal-projects)

Speak up!!

Sign the petition to help save millions of marine life that will undoubtedly be killed or hurt due to the massive turbines. Sign for your fisheries, habitats, and for the future of our oceans. Demand that these turbines be removed and our waters be unsullied by industrialization!!