Marine Renewables Canada welcomes new board members for 2015

Marine Renewables Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of two new directors to its Board of Directors. Both bring experience in the marine renewable energy industry and unique perspectives that will add to the national leadership of the association.

The new members of the Marine Renewables Canada Board of Directors are:

Dana Morin is Director of Business Development at Fundy Tidal Inc. He has been involved in numerous community renewable energy developments throughout Nova Scotia including five Community Feed-In Tariff (COMFIT) projects awarded to Fundy Tidal Inc (Fundy Tidal).

Dana founded Fundy Tidal in 2006 and served as President of the board of directors consisting of local community, industry and business leaders until 2012 before assuming the role of director of business development.  Fundy Tidal is a Community Economic-Development Corporation (CEDC) based in Digby County, Nova Scotia established as a result of local interest to generate both marine renewable energy and new opportunities from the tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy.  Fundy Tidal’s focus is on small-scale tidal energy projects that involve community ownership and local benefits and establishing Digby County as a focal point of marine industry development and R&D activities. 

Current activities include extensive R&D with industry and academic partners from Dalhousie, Acadia, UNB and NSCC and the development of COMFIT projects in Digby County (1.95 MW in Digby Gut and 500 kW in each of Grand Passage and Petit Passage) and in Cape Breton (100 kW in Barra Strait and 500 kW in Great Bras d’Or Channel). 

Dana has participated in numerous marine renewable energy related strategic environmental assessments, regulatory hearings and government policy activities. Most recently he was a member of the project management committee overseeing the Offshore Energy Research Association Study “Value Proposition for Tidal Energy Development” with Gardner Pinfold and the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute.

Dana served on the board of directors of the Ocean Renewable Energy Group (OREG) from 2010 to 2012 and participated in its evolution to becoming Marine Renewables Canada in 2012/2013 serving as the treasurer and secretary for both organizations.

Fabian Wolk is President and co-founder of Rockland Scientific, a leading and innovative company in Victoria, British Columbia, specializing in instrumentation and services for the measurement of marine micro-scale and turbulence. Fabian has extensive scientific and technical expertise in oceanographic sensing systems.  Over his 20-year career in the oceanographic sector Fabian has established a wide professional network in academia and industry, with numerous contacts in 19 countries.  Fabian serves as a member on the Canadian subcommittee to IEC/TC114 for the development of international standards relating to tidal resource assessment.  He also serves on the board of the Victoria Jazz Society.

Their terms will officially begin on January 1, 2015. 

Marine Renewables Canada would also like to thank the following outgoing members of the Board of Directors for their contributions and leadership: Clayton Bear, President of New Energy Corp. and Marcel Boridy, Directeur Régional Québec for Clean Current Power Systems.