The Homalco First Nation near Campbell River wants to study the possibility of generating electricity from the tides in their traditional territory.
The Strathcona Regional District agreed to formally support the nation’s plans with a support letter at their Sept. 25 meeting. Homalco have applied for a federal grant to do the research, and will be working with the University of Victoria and New Energy Corporation, which builds power generation systems.
They plan to study sites in channels east of Campbell River near Bute Inlet.
The Vancouver Island region has been studied for tidal power potential for decades, with results showing the Campbell River region alone could generate enough to power 750,000 homes. However, they also found the strong tides may be too much for current technology to handle.
