watercolour and crayon
©2023 Charlene Brown
Blind Channel, on the ‘inside passage’ between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia is scenically spectacular, and may also be a prime location for tidal power production. Initial testing of the potential for harnessing tidal currents at the Blind Channel off-grid tidal power demonstration project has shown promising results.
The University of Victoria’s Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery (PRIMED) research on tidal turbines and other clean energy sources like wind, solar, and low carbon hydrogen, is supported by the BC government’s Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund.
PRIMED is also investigating ways to avoid or surmount the recognized problems associated with tidal energy ̶ the high cost associated with building tidal power stations, and potentially negative environmental effects on marine life.
