The Power of Tides in Nova Scotia

Written by: Kéa Anderson 

Edited by: Sunny Bell

71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. Constantly in motion, this water could provide us with a wealth of energy – if only we knew how to harness it.

Marine renewable energy includes the development of wave and tidal energy infrastructure. With Canada’s extensive coastline and reach from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, the country’s potential for marine energy is great. 

Wave energy is harnessed by turbines, using the surface motion of waves and the pressure fluctuations beneath the surface to spin the blades. As with most turbines, this rotation turns an electrical generator to produce power. Off Canada’s Atlantic coast alone, potential wave energy capacity reaches 146,500 megawatts, more than doubling the current total electricity demand (Natural Resources Canada [NRC], 2025). Potential capacity, however, far exceeds the energy that can realistically be harnessed. Due to high installation costs, durability challenges, harsh marine environments, and power conversion losses, wave energy in Canada has experienced tumultuous and underwhelming development trials (NRC, 2025). Issues involving structural design, cost reduction, and efficiency of wave technology present a barrier to this energy source. As a result, Canada has largely shifted focus to the latter of the marine renewable energy sectors: tidal.

Tidal energy, similar to wave energy, is harnessed through turbines that are spun by the movement of water. In-stream technology is placed in the natural path of tidal currents, generating energy on inbound and outgoing tides. Driven by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon, two high tides and two low tides are produced every day. This enables one of the greatest advantages of tidal energy over other renewable resources: its predictability. While wind speeds die down, clouds block solar radiation, and waves lose severity, the tides do not waver in consistency. With tides charted centuries in advance, tidal energy availability can be calculated accurately, eliminating the need for extra power plants, transmission lines, batteries, and smart-grid storage (Marine Renewables Canada [MRC], 2024). Further, though the function of a tidal turbine reflects that of a wind turbine, tidal streams are able to harness much more energy with slower turbine rotation speeds and smaller rotor diameters. Water is roughly 800 times more dense than air, producing significantly more power through a device a third of the size (MRC, 2024). However, the increased density of water means that turbines must withstand turbulent conditions, with the water twisting and warping the blades much more than the wind would. Nonetheless, with the known consistency of tidal currents, researchers are working to overcome this challenge through technological innovation. Elisa Obermann, Executive Director of Marine Renewables Canada, states that “[t]idal energy is a prime example of a sector and clean technology that can spur economic development while helping Canada achieve its goals to reduce carbon emissions and act on climate change” (NRC, 2020). This vision is underway on Canada’s eastern coast, where Nova Scotia has emerged as a hotspot for tidal energy. 

The Bay of Fundy, settled between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, hosts the highest tides and largest tidal range in the world. The unique funnel shape of the bay allows for an extraordinary 16-meter tidal range, compared to the one-meter global average (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2024). The Bay of Fundy simultaneously produces some of the strongest currents in the world, advancing its tidal energy potential. 640 billion tons of water – more than 16 times the volume of water contained in all of Earth’s rivers – are carried daily through the bay by tidal currents (National Research Council Canada, 2024). It is estimated that tidal developments in the Bay of Fundy could produce 7,000 megawatts of potential energy – a sufficient amount to power all of Atlantic Canada’s two million homes, or displace over 22 million tonnes of CO2 (MRC, 2024). The magnitude of these tides has captured the interest of scientists worldwide, who now turn to this bay in hopes of finding solutions to global power needs.

The Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), a not-for-profit corporation, is Canada’s leading test facility for exploring and developing in-stream tidal energy technology. FORCE has constructed a tidal turbine test and demonstration facility in the Bay of Fundy, providing four offshore subsea power cables connected to Nova Scotia’s power grid to which a tidal stream company can test their turbine developments (O’Connor, 2024). Here, turbines are assessed for efficiency, durability, and potential ecosystem impacts, with research and scientific collaboration further refining this technology. 

In-stream tidal infrastructure is facing critique and pushback in its development stage, with questions of cost, implementation, and environmental impact being raised. A Canadian government-funded initiative – the Clean Energy Fund – awarded $23 million for FORCE tidal infrastructure, allowing the corporation to design and develop the site and test program (NRC, 2016). Upon implementation of their successful in-stream tidal turbines, tidal technology developers are paid a “feed-in” tariff for the electricity they contribute to Nova Scotia’s grid, incentivizing this investment in clean energy technology (O’Connor, 2024). A primary advantage of in-stream tidal energy is that it is scalable, meaning that developers can begin with one turbine and scale up over time according to their budgets, resources, and capabilities. In this regard, FORCE works to make innovation accessible and contribute to the province’s economy.

Finally, environmentalists present concerns on the impacts of in-stream tidal technology on the surrounding wildlife and ecosystems. While the impacts of fully operational tidal energy farms are yet unknown, in-stream devices are engineered to work around the environment, presenting little evidence of harm. Unique from barrages or dams, in-stream devices do not force water through any unnatural path. Instead, they simply use the movement of tidal currents for rotation to harness kinetic energy (MRC, 2024). This reduces their effect on sedimentation, which affects erosion and drainage patterns, and avoids forcing marine life to pass through them, sparing migrating fish from being impacted (O’Connor, 2024). On the current scale that FORCE occupies in the Bay of Fundy, significant environmental concerns are mitigated adequately through continual research and observation.

As the world searches for solutions to growing energy insecurity, Nova Scotia’s efforts to place tidal development in the global energy market stand out as an example of diligent innovation. The Bay of Fundy research continues to gain international support, spurring the race for in-stream tidal technology as the next major renewable energy source. All eyes now turn to the teams at FORCE as they attempt to connect the world’s greatest tides to the Canadian power grid.

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References:

Marine Renewables Canada. (2024). Tidal Energy» Marine Renewables Canada. Marinerenewables.ca. https://marinerenewables.ca/facts/tidal-energy/ 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2024, April 14). JetStream Max: Bay of Fundy: The Highest Tides in the World. Www.noaa.gov. https://www.noaa.gov/ocean/fundy-max 

National Research Council Canada. (2024, October 7). “Current” affairs: Harnessing renewable energy of the Bay of Fundy’s tides - National Research Council Canada. Canada.ca. https://nrc.canada.ca/en/stories/current-affairs-harnessing-renewable-energy-bay-fundys-tides 

Natural Resources Canada. (2016). Tidal Energy Project in the Bay of Fundy - Natural Resources Canada. Canada.ca. https://natural-resources.canada.ca/funding-partnerships/tidal-energy-project-bay-fundy 

Natural Resources Canada. (2020, November 5). Canada Makes Historic Investments in Tidal Energy in Nova Scotia. Canada.ca; Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/natural-resources-canada/news/2020/11/canada-makes-historic-investments-in-tidal-energy-in-nova-scotia.html 

Natural Resources Canada. (2025). What is marine renewable energy? Canada.ca. https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-sources/renewable-energy/what-marine-renewable-energy 

O’Connor, J. (2024, October 9). Bay of Fundy, bay of dreams: The tantalizing, frustrating quest to harness the world’s most powerful tides. Financialpost; Financial Post. https://financialpost.com/feature/nova-scotia-bay-of-fundy-tap-renewable-energy