Abstract
Head Harbour Passage trends southwest to northeast from Friar Roads and is the main shipping channel to Passamaquoddy Bay from the adjacent Bay of Fundy. On average 56MW of power is embodied in the tidal stream, of which about 8.5MW could be extracted without any negative impact on the environment. A plant of that scale could reach an electrical output of about 21MW at peak. There is an higher uncertainty with these estimates than for the US states because of the lack of tidal current measurement data in the region. Better data may yield improved results.
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 in the Head Harbour 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.