The project, located in the Petit Passage at the gateway of the Bay of Fundy, will use Nova鈥檚 technology to produce tidal energy. Up to 15 turbines will operate on the seabed, harnessing one of the planet鈥檚 most powerful tides.
Nova said that it believes that the smaller profile of its M100 D turbines, at 100kW, will enable them to withstand the Fundy tide and operate without endangering marine life. The company has operated three of the turbines in the Shetland Islands without incident since 2016.
Nova Innovation secured the funding from Natural Resources Canada鈥檚 (NRCan) Energy Innovation Program.
Phase 1 of the project will validate the deployment, commissioning and operation of the first five turbines.
Canada鈥檚 minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan made the announcement on behalf of NRCan at an event on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. She said: 鈥淲ith the longest coastline in the world, Canada should be a global leader in tidal energy. This renewable energy source has the potential to substantially grow our blue economy in the long term, but we need to invest now. There are brilliant teams across this country who are working toward this vision, and our government wants to be a partner in their efforts. So today, we鈥檙e proud to invest in four innovative projects that share a single goal: to build a thriving tidal power industry across Canada.鈥�
Kim MacNeil, Nova Innovation鈥檚 head of North American business development, added: 鈥淐anada鈥檚 investment reflects the growing confidence worldwide in our technology and our ability to operate it in extremely challenging environments. It will be a huge step forward for tidal energy in Nova Scotia and Canada. Support from NRCan gives it added momentum in a time when the world is working to recover from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
鈥淣ova Innovation involves local companies in our tidal energy projects as part of our business model. This is the approach we have taken in Shetland, and this is the approach we will take in Nova Scotia. We鈥檙e confident we鈥檒l be key to making tidal energy an invaluable resource for Nova Scotians.鈥�
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