Abstract
Western Passage is the western conduit for waters from the St. Croix River and Passamaquoddy Bay. The US-Canada border lie within the waters of the Western Passage. It is known for its strong currents. In average 104MW of power is embodied in the tidal stream at the Dog Island transect, of which about 15MW could be extracted without any negative impact on the environment. A plant of that scale could reach an electrical output of about 45MW at peak.
This document describes the results of a system level design, performance and cost study for both a demonstration pilot plant and an economics assessment of a commercial size in-stream tidal power plant installed at the Dog Island transect in the Western Passage. The primary purpose of this design study was to identify and quantify the risks and benefits of using TISEC technology at this site. As such it addresses the technology, energy production, cost of a pilot and commercial power plant system and cost of electricity.