Apqak Renewable Energy Inc. plans to develop and install marine current technology in Iqaluit which will generate electrical power from Frobisher Bay’s tidal currents.
As Nunatsiaq Online reports, the company proposes to bring the most advanced tidal power generation equipment to Iqaluit to generate electricity for the city, and it has received the letter from city councilors formalizing their support for the project.
Apqak would install underwater turbines on the sea floor in areas where strong tidal currents will drive them. Energy from the spinning turbines would then generate electrical power. An array of turbines would generate about 10 megawatts of electricity for Iqaluit.
Nunavut’s sole electricity producer, the Government of Nunavut-owned Qulliq Energy Corp., produces the territory’s electrical power by burning diesel fuel, which causes the electricity rates to increase every year following upward movements in the price of diesel fuel.
Kirt Ejesiak , a vice-president of marketing for Apqak Renewable Energy, said for Nunatsiaq Online: “Tidal power has just recently become a proven technology that can produce power at a scale large enough for small municipalities, which makes Iqaluit the perfect place to install generators.”
Apqak has identified at least four Europe-based companies that could produce such generators, and enlisted Hatch Ltd., an Ontario-based engineering firm, to conduct a feasibility study on tidal power generation in Frobisher Bay.
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Tidal Energy Today Staff, Image: flickr/Mike Beauregard