Two Japanese firms have entered into a joint development agreement with Irish firm DP Energy to work on the initial phase of a tidal energy project in the Bay of Fundy.
Chubu Electric Power and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, or “K” Line, said in a statement reported by CNBC that the development will be located at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy, a research centre for tidal stream energy based in Parrsboro, N.S. The two firms describe the agreement as “the first tidal energy project in which a Japanese company will participate overseas.”
According to DP Energy, the first phase of the project, called Uisce Tapa – Irish for “fast water” – is centered around three 1.5 megawatt turbines. The second aims to increase the project’s capacity to 9 MW.
Uisce Tapa is backed by a 15-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power, which comes in at $530 per megawatt hour. The project has also benefited from a grant of about $30 million from Natural Resources Canada.
If all goes to plan, the first turbine would start operations in 2023, followed by two others in 2026.