Officials tell legislature committee tidal industry being held back by regulatory hurdles

A group that represents tidal energy developers told a legislature committee Tuesday that the industry's efforts to harness the power of the Bay of Fundy is being stymied by regulatory roadblocks.

Elisa Obermann, executive director of Marine Renewables Canada, told members of the standing committee on natural resources and economic development that companies need "investment certainty, regulatory certainty and a strong signal and commitment from governments to work collaboratively with industry."

Her organization represents 180 companies.

The former CEO of one of those companies, Jason Hayman, put it more bluntly.

"We spent a heck of a lot of money, time and effort, not only proving up the viability of the technology, but also working on any potential impacts to marine wildlife and the environment," said the one-time head of Sustainable Marine Energy via a video link from Germany.

He blamed the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for the company's demise.

"The lack of alignment of provincial and federal regulators and the lack of technically competent leadership resulted in us not being able to deliver what we had promised to our investors," he said.

"I can only describe what happened as an act of economic vandalism."

It's not the first time he's criticized DFO. At the time, a DFO spokesperson said Sustainable Marine had not provided enough information about its project.

'Regulatory purgatory'

Hayman told the committee DFO's stringent requirements and its delays in granting approvals created a "regulatory purgatory" for those who wanted to test their power-generating devices in the Bay of Fundy.

He described the department's approach to protecting fish and the marine environment near the test site set up by the Nova Scotia government in 2009 as unachievable.

He said DFO seemed to want companies to "take the name and address of each fish and get them to log in as they [swam] by the turbine."

Elise Obermann, left, with Marine Renewables Canada, and Lindsay Bennett, with Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy, speak to the standing committee on natural resources and economic development. (Jean Laroche/CBC)

A DFO report from a task force on sustainable tidal energy development in the Bay of Fundy says it recognizes the challenges tidal energy developers are facing. It says it's working to reduce turnaround time for regulatory decisions and clarifying requirements for fish protection.

"The Task Force acknowledges that as a relatively new renewable energy sector, there is a dynamic tension between tidal energy developers' need for clarity on DFO's regulatory requirements and DFO's need for flexibility to respond to lessons learned," said the report.

More funding needed from governments, says speaker

The woman in charge of the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), Lindsay Bennett, made a similar argument as Hayman, but stated it more diplomatically.

She said the scientists and ocean technologists at FORCE had conducted over $20 million in research to create baseline data.

"And at this point we really need devices deployed so that we can study them in the environment," said Bennett. "The participation from DFO is key, working with the sector so that we can clarify that path forward."

She also suggested her organization would need more funding from the federal and provincial governments.

"The research that's required to advance things in the tidal sector in Nova Scotia, the amount of stakeholder engagement, all of the work that is supported by the team that we have at FORCE, it costs money," Bennett told reporters following the meeting.

"It's expensive work. We've had ongoing conversations with the province and the federal government and they know what our financial situation is and what our needs are."

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