According to the The Canadian Hydrographic Service the Bay of Fundy is tied with Ungava Bay for the highest tides in the world with a tide of 17 metres (55.8 feet), measured at Burntcoat Head in the Bay of Fundy. During the 12.4 hour tidal period, 115 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the bay.
An Irish firm OpenHydro intends to place a 10-metre turbine on a tripod in the Minas Passage off Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, in late October or early November. The turbine is capable of generating one-megawatt of electrical power. Nova Scotia Power, which is supporting this test project, foresees that tidal power generation could provide up to 10 % of Nova Scotia's power requirements with about 200 to 300 tidal turbines in the Bay of Fundy.
The Government of Nova Scotia and the Department of Fisheries have given environmental approval for tidal turbine test projects for three companies, Minas Basin Pulp and Power, Nova Scotia Power, and Clean Current (BC).
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