Renewable. Nonpolluting. It works in the dark, unlike solar power. And in a calm, unlike wind power. reconcept's floating tidal power station is gearing up to go on grid in Nova Scotia, Canada.
It is an extraordinary project - these floating tidal power plants, deployed in the Canadian Bay of Fundy, where the tidal range is the highest in the world at 13 to 16 metres.
The great advantage of tidal power plants is their predictability. While solar and wind energy depend on the weather, tidal power plants are able to supply electricity around the clock, 365 days a year. Because as long as the moon orbits the earth, there will be tidal energy - predictable and thus calculable. This makes them interesting in terms of energy policy and also an attractive investment project.
160 billion tonnes of water - unimaginable amounts of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy twice a day with the ebb and flow of the tide, causing a tidal range of 13 metres at normal high tide or about 16 metres at spring tide. Nowhere else in the world does such a strong tidal force exist. The Canadian province of Nova Scotia wants to exploit this natural energy resource and therefore specifically promotes the development and construction of tidal power plants with fixed subsidy tariffs.
A power supply agreement (PPA) has already been signed for the electricity feed-in. According to this agreement, the tidal power will be remunerated with 530 Canadian dollars per megawatt hour, guaranteed for 15 years by the "Developmental Tidal Feed-in Tariff (FiT)". This support system for maritime renewable energies in Nova Scotia grants fixed feed-in tariffs to non-governmental electricity producers.
The currently planned FORCE II tidal power plant comprises six floating power plants, each with six controllable underwater turbines. The turbines can independently align themselves in all directions according to the changing current and are therefore especially suitable for operation in tidal waters.
The German Schottel Group is behind the concept. The long-established company with headquarters in Spay on the Rhine develops, designs, produces and sells underwater propulsion systems worldwide. Schottel is developing the tidal power technology together with its project partner Sustainable Marine Energy Canada.
The first of the three tidal platforms of our ocean energy project FORCE 1 (investment property of RE13 Meeresenergie) was launched in the Grand Passage at the beginning of February 2021. There, in the mouth of the Canadian Bay of Fundy, the rig will undergo various technical processes in the coming months, always with a view to further optimising the best possible use of the Bay of Fundy's gigantic tidal power potential.
Short film: First platform launched
