Contribution short abstract:

Marine renewable energy technologies present both opportunities and risks for changing extractive and commoning patterns. How are tidal power initiatives in Nova Scotia affected by rural struggles for energy independence, fisheries conflicts and relations with First Nations groups?

Contribution long abstract:

New marine renewable energy infrastructures are part of increasingly busy, multi-purpose oceanic spaces. Many analysts see these power technologies as requiring new commoning institutions and norms towards marine justice. Like other nascent ‚green’ industries, marine renewables are shaped by sedimented economic and political patterns and visions, that affect how these technologies are taken up - or not.

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia claims the most powerful tides in the world, and has invested heavily for a decade in developing tidal turbine stations. Though many agree that the idea is good, the decision-making process around investment, benefit-sharing and environmental impact has been very fraught. This paper uses early results from stakeholder interviews, participant-observation and media analysis to analyze the experience of tidal energy production, and how different actors in the province conceive a tidal energy commons. In particular, I examine how the tidal power dream is affected by island community struggles for energy independence, high-stakes fisheries conflicts, evolving relations with First Nations land and sea stewards, and the push- and pull around decarbonizing Canada. Lastly, the paper asks how this particular form of making and sharing energy is similar or different from locally established common-pool resources such as coastal tourist sites or education. Such a case-study perspective will help elucidate how the notion of 'energy' itself is constituted, and what kind of energy-related processes are valued as extractive or reciprocal.