The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has issued permits and a power purchase agreement (PPA) worth C$350 per megawatt-hour for Big Moon Power’s 5MW tidal project in the Bay of Fundy.
The 15-year PPA involves a multi-phase project off Cape Split in the Minas Passage.
The Salt Lake City developer wants to deploy its Kinetic Keel hardware, which features a passive barge connected to an onshore generator via a submerged high-strength rope.
The first phase would involve the installation of a non-grid connected prototype, which Big Moon plans on testing for up to three months by the year-end.
Nova Scotia awarded a 14-month demonstration permit to test the 100kW device.
The commercial stage, for which an environmental impact assessment will be required, involves the deployment of a single 1MW device with a further four 1MW machines to follow.
Big Moon will pay annual rent to the province of C$68,250 for the length of the five-year commercial permit.
“Nova Scotia is becoming well known for being at the forefront of tidal energy technology development,” said Nova Scotia Energy Minister Geoff MacLellan.
“Demonstration projects like this will help drive innovation, competition and ultimately lower renewable energy prices.”
Image: Big Moon Power
Big Moon to shine in Nova Scotia
By EBS