Acadia organized a celebration for the Official Opening of the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute on Tuesday, 11 September, in the Festival Theatre (across the street from the Beveridge Arts Centre). The event opened at 1:45 pm (for viewing of exhibits), with presentations that started at 2:30 pm.
Acadia’s long history of Bay of Fundy tidal energy initiatives dates back to 1915 when Acadia Engineering Professor, Ralph Clarkson, and the then President of Acadia (Professor Cutten) proposed an exciting and innovative tidal energy development at Cape Split. Some of the patents and documents produced at that time will be on display.
During the last few decades, Acadia has played a significant role in addressing the environmental implications of tidal power development (1976-present). Current areas of involvement by Acadia faculty have broadened and now encompass multiple disciplines and topic areas – energy resource assessment, environmental effects, socio-economic considerations and community engagement.
Opportunities for research in this developing area are growing and driven, in part, by the government’s renewable energy targets and feed-in-tariff incentives.
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Press release, September 12, 2012; Image: Acadia Tidal Energy Institute