Today, Japanese firms Chubu Electric Power and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha announced they entered into a joint development agreement with Ireland-based DP Energy. Accordingly, this deal will help the firms work on the initial phase of a tidal project in Canada.
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Therefore, in a statement, the two Japanese companies said the agreement is related to the Uisce Tapa Tidal Energy project. Indeed, the development is located at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy in the Bay of Fundy; an inlet between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
More about the project
In fact, both Chubu Electric Power and “K” Line described it as “the first tidal energy project in which a Japanese company will participate overseas.”
On the other hand, according to DP Energy, the first phase of Uisce Tapa — Irish for “fast water” — will focus on three 1.5 megawatt turbines. After that, the second aims to increase the project’s capacity to 9 MW.
In this sense, Chubu Electric and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power Incorporated; indeed, this deal backs Uisce Tapa. Besides, the project also benefits from a grant of around $30 million from Natural Resources Canada.
Thus, in its announcement on Wednesday, DP Energy described the Bay of Fundy as “being home to some of the highest tides in the world.”
Other tidal projects
Also, it added that at peak surface speed, tidal currents there are; “capable of exceeding 10 knots” or 5 meters per second.
Indeed, and it is worth noting, both Chubu Electric Power and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha said that the project is considered for approval by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Therefore, if all goes to plan, the first turbine would start operations in 2023, followed by two others in 2026.
In fact, the news comes in the same week the tidal energy business Nova Innovation said it could move forward with a project; particularly focused on scaling up the production of tidal turbines after receiving funding from the Scottish government.
Similarly, another company, Orbital Marine Power, said its O2 turbine started grid-connected power generation; specifically, at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, an archipelago north of the Scottish mainland.
