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Wave of federal money hits Bay of Fundy Tidal Stream Project

April 16, 2015 | By Renée Francoeur



April 16, 2015 – Over $8 million is being channelled into two cleantech projects in Nova Scotia, the feds announced recently, and over half of that is going to OpenHydro Technology Canada for its Bay of Fundy Tidal Stream Project.

OpenHydro will receive $6,353,000 for the simulated commercial tidal farm project, thanks to Canada’s Economic Action Plan investment in Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) SD Tech Fund.

The project, which is situated at the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) facility, will consist of two 2MW turbines and demonstrate the cost and performance of a commercial tidal farm. Each turbine is mounted on a subsea gravity base that is placed on the seabed, OpenHydro explained, and each unit is expected to produce 2MW at a cost of 14.7 cents per kWh by 2020.

At over 16 m, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world, OpenHydro said, and has the potential to supply thousands of homes with power.

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“We are extremely grateful to Sustainable Development Technology Canada for supporting us in the development of our 4MW tidal array at FORCE in 2015,” said James Ives, OpenHydro CEO.
“OpenHydro is proud to have been the first technology installed in the Bay of Fundy, and we remain convinced of the potential of the region as a major source of clean renewable energy. This project represents an important step in building a local tidal energy industry in Nova Scotia and a next step in the development of commercial tidal farms in the region.”


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