DCNS‘s OpenHydro subsidiary has signed an agreement with the Canadian province of Nova Scotia to site two underwater turbines in the Bay of Fundy. An auspicious debut in this sector of the future.
“It’s one of the world’s most promising sites for the generation of tidal energy,” enthuses OpenHydro‘s president Thierry Kalanquin. The DCNS subsidiary, which specialises in the production of the energy from tidal currents, has just signed an agreement with the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada, for the installation of a pilot array in the Minas passage of the Bay of Fundy.
From 2015, two 2MW turbines will supply electricity to 1000 local inhabitants. According to DCNS, this will be “the first time that underwater turbines rated at several megawatts have been connected together.” In time, a consortium led by OpenHydro and Emera, a Canadian company, aims to build a 300MW commercial array.
The agreement includes plans for an industrial site that will create 950 jobs. The group’s strategy is to build the turbines in the regions with the strongest potential. In France, DCNS is thus involved with the project to exploit the Raz Blanchard tidal race off Normandy’s Cotentin peninsula, which will be supported by manufacturing at its Cherbourg site. R&D for the project will be based at the Jules Verne Institute in Nantes.
Further information: www.openhydro.com
