Nova Scotia's Fundy Tidal Inc. partnered in November 2013 with Dutch tidal turbine producer Tocardo International BV and Tribute Resources Inc. of London, Ontario
The three firms will work to develop a $30-million project with a capacity for 3MW of tidal power at three locations around Digby, Nova Scotia.
Image at right: Tocardo International's concept for turbines in Bay of Fundy.
The partnership outlines terms for the proposed participation by TRB and Tocardo of a strategic interest in Fundy Tidal as well as the financing and development of the small-scale tidal Community Feed-In Tariff (COMFIT) projects awarded to Fundy Tidal by the Province of Nova Scotia.
Fundy Tidal received approval through the provincial community feed-in tariff program for three projects in Digby County: a 1.95MW project in Digby Gut and 500KW developments in Grand Passage and Petit Passage.
“We have the moneys to proceed with building the projects, and it would be the first project in Canada or anywhere that’s received sort of traditional project financing,” Dana Morin, Fundy Tidal’s director of business development, said at the Marine Renewables Canada conference in Ottowa.
Fundy Tidal is project developer and operator (51% interest); Tribute Resources retains 49% interest.
Tocardo, which opened its first Canadian office in Halifax last year, will build a 1.95MW array of T200 in-stream tidal turbines that will be installed in the Digby Gut area of the Bay of Fundy. It also plans to build a tidal turbine assembly and manufacturing plant in Nova Scotia. Tocardo, based in Den Oever, Netherlands, already has a tidal turbine connected to the Dutch grid that produces electricity for 50 to 80 households.
The projects represent a key milestone in the development of tidal power in Nova Scotia as envisaged by the policies of the Nova Scotia government. The Province has established several feed-in tariffs to encourage development of tidal power in the area. The COMFIT supports devices 500kW connected to the transmission system.
The terms also acknowledge and support Fundy Tidal’s commitment to establish testing & demonstration facilities in Digby County to be co-located with the infrastructure required for the COMFIT projects.
“We are trying to be in the water by 2015,” Morin said, adding that they expect to be producing at full capacity by2016.
See also:
Video: Fundy Tidal's turbine project
News: "New tidal turbines coming to Bay of Fundy," 21 Jan 2014
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