The Edinburgh, Scotland-headquartered company plans to deliver the world’s first floating tidal array at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) and is using its demonstration site at Grand Passage to prove up its technology and environmental monitoring systems before commencing deployments in the Minas Passage – renowned as the ‘Everest of tidal energy’.

According to Sustainable Marine CEO Jason Hayman, the demonstration project shows that the Bay of Fundy’s huge tidal energy resource – which contains more than four times the combined flow of every freshwater river in the world – could be harnessed effectively to provide up to 2,500 MW of clean and predictable energy for Canada.

Nova Scotia has allocated some 30 MW of capacity via demonstration permits and berths at FORCE for developers to demonstrate the effectiveness, cost and environmental effects associated with this new form of energy generation, which aligns with the region’s net zero commitments to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired electricity by 2030. 

The demonstration projects provide developers with a pathway to reduce costs on the road to commercial projects, with a regulatory framework already in place to deliver up to 300 MW of installed capacity. 

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says: ‘Sustainable Marine achieved a first in Canadian tidal energy history, delivering power from a floating platform in Grand Passage to Nova Scotia’s electricity grid. This project and others are positioning Nova Scotia as a global player in the tidal energy sector and are creating green technologies, green jobs, a cleaner environment and a predictable, renewable source of electricity for Nova Scotians.’