Project Overview Nova Scotia Power has partnered with Irish firm OpenHydro to explore a new source of tidal energy for Nova Scotia. As part of a test project that will help to determine the feasibility of harnessing tidal energy on a commercial scale, NS Power has deployed a 10-metre, 1MW in-stream tidal turbine in the Minas Passage of the Bay of Fundy – home to the world’s most powerful tides.
NS Power chose OpenHydro’s design because it is simple and robust – ideal for the punishing conditions of the Bay of Fundy. Designed to generate electricity in a manner that is both reliable and predictable, the turbine operates each day with the flow of the tides: it spins in one direction at high tide and reverses as the tides flow back out to sea. This form of generation is more predictable than other forms of renewable energy like wind power, where it can be difficult to predict when turbines will operate at maximum capacity.
The turbine is self-lubricating and operates without oils, grease and other fluids which could impact the sensitive marine environment. The turbine’s open-centre design allows sea life to freely pass through the device, a feature that should ensure minimal impact on its surrounding environment.
Now deployed, the turbine will be monitored by NS Power and OpenHydro to ensure that it can both withstand the punishing conditions of the Bay of Fundy and operate in harmony with its surrounding environment. The turbine is currently sitting on the ocean floor, invisible from the ocean’s surface. Even at low tide, the turbine cannot be seen.
In the future, two additional turbines will be deployed in the Bay of Fundy by Clean Current from British Columbia and Minas Basin Pulp and Power of Hants East. These companies, along with NS Power, are all members of the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) which is in the process of constructing a station that will allow the turbines to be connected to the electrical grid. The station will also include a research laboratory to examine the data collected from the test turbines in the hope of determining how best to harness energy from the Bay of Fundy in the future.
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The turbine being loaded enroute for Nova Scotia
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