The 1 MW commercial scale turbine reached the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) deployment site, in the Minas Passage, before being deployed in the Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is now operational, rotating with the tides, collecting data, and producing energy.
During the deployment ceremony, Rob Bennett, President and CEO of Nova Scotia Power said: “Today begins a very important period of testing that we believe will demonstrate that tidal energy can be part of Nova Scotia’s renewable energy future. Working with OpenHydro, we are proud to be the first to deploy and test a commercial scale tidal turbine in the Bay of Fundy and look forward to the learnings ahead.”
The 400-tonne device was lowered in less than six hours to its intended location on the ocean floor by a purpose-built barge called the OpenHydro Installer. The barge and the deployment method were both designed and developed by Nova Scotia Power’s partner, OpenHydro.
“Today is an historic first for Nova Scotia,” said James Ives, CEO of OpenHydro. “For the first time, thanks to Nova Scotia Power’s foresight and OpenHydro’s technology, a commercial size in-stream tidal turbine has been successfully deployed in what is undoubtedly one of the world’s strongest tidal energy resources.”
The turbine now rests on the seabed held in place by a subsea gravity base designed by OpenHydro and fabricated by Cherubini Metal Works.
Nova Scotia Power’s involvement with this tidal energy test facility is supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), an arm’s-length, not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada.
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