North America’s most powerful tidal turbine, an OpenHydro 2MW machine, is now supplying power in Nova Scotia after being successfully connected to the grid.
Cape Sharp Tidal – a joint venture between Emera and OpenHydro – deployed the Open-Centre Turbine on November 7th at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy in just two hours. Twenty-four hours later the operations team connected the turbine’s subsea cable with the FORCE subsea cable, which connects to the on-shore sub-station.
Thierry Kalanquin, chairman of OpenHydro and a senior VP at parent company DCNS, said: "When it is joined by a second device in 2017, Cape Sharp Tidal will be one of the largest generating, in-stream tidal energy arrays anywhere in the world. The project is providing us with unique insights into what is required to build commercial scale arrays. It will help us accelerate delivery of the pipeline of ocean energy projects we have secured across the globe."
The entire turbine system, including all monitors and communications links, is undergoing thorough tested, prior to being fully commissioned in a few weeks time. The electrical conversion system has been validated by the Canadian Standards Association which ensures the Open-Centre Turbine power export is compliant with the Canadian grid.
Data is being collected from a number of monitoring devices mounted on the turbine to collect information on its interaction with fish and other animal activity. Monitoring reports will contribute to a growing international body of research.
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