The Government of Canada has invested USD 260,000 to help define the engineering and design requirements of a 500-kilowatt (KW) floating tidal turbine system that could operate in remote areas along the British Columbia coastline.
The project has been determined feasible and will receive an additional USD 1.3 million through the Clean Energy Fund to support its demonstration phase.
The grant was awarded to Water Wall Turbine, which has developed a unique and innovative technical solution to efficiently harvest tidal and river stream energy.
The concept involves an anchored floating structure with a large turbine that rotates at slow speed. This technology will provide a predictable level of highly efficient energy extraction — almost double that of conventional propeller-driven devices.
The technology is scalable from half a megawatt (MW) to 5 MW per unit. The units can also be linked in series across wider channels or strung out along tidal or river channels to produce larger multiples of power.
The flexibility and scalability of the technology, together with its high efficiency, allow for large market potential beyond Canadian borders.
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Press Release; Image: Water Wall Turbine