Abstract
The Nova Scotia Tidal Energy Atlas is an interactive web mapping application that makes tidal energy related spatial information readily accessible to the public and provides online tools to allow users to interact with the data. Tidal energy-related spatial data collected to date represents work conducted in various projects and regions within the Bay of Fundy. These studies support the developing industry through risk reduction and informed decision making. Several of the reports from these studies can be found on the Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia (OERA) and the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) websites. Much of the data available for the tidal energy industry in Nova Scotia is in the form of lengthy technical reports and large data sets housed by numerous institutions. Accessing information for technical analysis, business development and community engagement requires extensive exploration. To overcome this challenge, these otherwise disparate sets are being successfully combined, displayed and manipulated in the Nova Scotia Tidal Energy Atlas.
Background
An existing web mapping application, Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States created by Georgia Tech was referenced as a starting point for developing a web mapping application for tidal energy in Nova Scotia. A proof-of-concept for the Nova Scotia Tidal Energy Atlas was developed by FORCE, the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute and Tekmap Consulting in the spring of 2014 with seed funding from OERA. The aim was to build a decision-making tool that integrates complex spatial information of importance to the tidal energy industry. In 2015, the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute, in partnership with Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Nova Scotia Department of Energy, Offshore Energy Research Association, Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy and Tekmap Consulting continued development of the proof-of-concept to bring it to a level of readiness for government, industry and public use. The Nova Scotia Tidal Energy Atlas was made publically available in March 2016. The project aims to make accessible a range of geospatial data associated with tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy and to serve as a tool for making quantitative assessments at potential turbine deployment locations. To provide a flexible, expandable tool for tidal energy assessment, Tekmap Consulting chose open source technology. Using open source software allows for future project growth and development, with the addition of more data and assessment tools. To store and deliver the data, the robust Geoserver software provides the Web Mapping Services. The Geoserver software is fully compliant with the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The Heron Mapping Client provides the map display and processing tools for this project. The mapping client is built upon existing open source technologies including: OpenLayers and the GeoExt JavaScript toolkit. The flexibility of this open source software allows for the development of new tools including the Tidal Scoring Interface. The Tidal Scoring Interface provides a powerful geospatial query tool, allowing users to extract and display tidal power model data.