POWER March 2011 - 35

POWER IN CANADA
2. New gas-fired cogeneration plant. Northland Power's newest thermal energy
plant, a cogeneration plant in Thorold, Ontario, opened on budget and on schedule in 2010.
The 305-MW plant delivers power to the grid as well as electricity and process steam to a
nearby Abitibi-Consolidated Co. of Canada paper plant. Courtesy: Northland Power
Canada has been associated with excellence
in hydropower for more than a hundred
years but continues to innovate in order
to make better use of its hydro resources.
Nik Argirov, business unit leader of MWH
Canada Inc., the world's leading wet infrastructure
company, follows these developments
closely. He says, " This is a very old
industry, but while hydroelectric processes
are already very efficient, we continue to
invest in research and innovation. The most
exciting technologies that I see now are
coming from hydrokinetic research and its
river and tidal application. "
Hydrokinetics is the harnessing of the
energy potential from natural water flow
in rivers or ocean currents using turbines
that operate without the need for dams or
penstocks. One such example is the TREK
turbine, which is being developed by RER
(Renewable Energy Research), recently
spun off from engineering firm RSW during
its sale to AECOM. The TREK turbine
can generate up to 333 kW and guarantee
10 years of maintenance-free performance.
The September 2010 installation of two of
RER's TREK turbine prototypes in the
Saint Lawrence River, Québec, was the result
of two years of in-house research and
development.
Imad Hamad, general manager of RER
explains: " Hydrokinetic technology sits on
the river bed, has no visual impact, does not
sacrifice land, makes no noise, and works 24
hours a day and 365 days a year. It is foreseeable,
it is predictable, and it is repeatable.
We have made resources assessments and,
March 2011 | POWER
with the dimensions of our machine, we
found 30,000 MW of technically, environmentally,
and economically viable potential
projects around Canada. In the U.S., we
found another 77,000 MW in a small selection
of rivers and estimate a total potential
market of 200,000 MW in the U.S. "
Similar technology is being developed
to utilize Canada's rich tidal resource. The
Bay of Fundy boasts one of the highest tides
in the world and is gaining a reputation as a
global center of excellence for tidal energy
innovation. Emera, a private corporation
that owns Nova Scotia Power, in addition
to a broad range of generation, utility, and
transmission assets across North America,
has been a key player in this development.
Christopher Huskilson, CEO, explains the
potential resource available: " The Bay of
Fundy actually affects Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, and Maine. More water flows
in and out of the Bay of Fundy on any given
day than all the rivers in the world. It has
the highest tides in the world, in excess of
20 meters. It's a huge resource. The testing
here has been the most aggressive in the
world, but you can deploy this type of technology
in other locations, including those
where tides are not as strong. "
Fossil. In addition to its vast renewable
resources, Canada is also rich in fossil fuels,
none more so than coal, of which it is
estimated to possess more than 100 years of
supply. Oil and natural gas are also abundant.
Canada has 269 fossil fuel thermal
generating stations that represent a combined
installed capacity over 36,000 MW.
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POWER March 2011

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