Oceanetic Power Corporation, based in Ottawa, is looking to harness the energy of the Bay of Fundy tides by adapting the turbine of a vessel previously owned by a failed company. Occurrent Power, previously known as Big Moon Power, declared insolvency over a year ago. The company had acquired a testing site at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy near Parrsboro, N.S., along with a valuable power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power. Oceanetic now owns the key assets of Occurrent, including the Falcon vessel constructed for $14 million US.
Sasha Jacob, the founder of Oceanetic and former adviser to Occurrent, expressed excitement about the endeavor. Jacob, a former investment banker involved in renewable technologies like onshore wind and geothermal, sees tidal power as the next promising field. Fred Ferguson, the chief technology officer at Oceanetic, revealed plans to enhance energy capture efficiency by up to 400% by modifying the vessel’s turbine.
Ferguson compared the current turbine to an inefficient windmill, stating that reducing the blades to three, inspired by modern wind turbines, would significantly boost efficiency. The new turbine technology is developed by Waterotor, a company led by Ferguson. The modifications to the vessel, which is set to arrive in Digby for inspection this week, are estimated to cost around $10 million.
If all progresses as planned, Ferguson anticipates that Oceanetic could start producing energy by 2026. However, the company still needs to secure a berth at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy. Earlier this year, the province appointed Power Advisory, a Toronto-based firm, to manage the procurement process for tidal stream energy projects. The application deadline for obtaining a marine renewable electricity license for the available berths is September 26.
Michael Killeavy, a commercial director at Power Advisory, mentioned that approximately twelve entities have shown interest in submitting applications for conducting work in one or both of the available berths for marine renewable electricity projects.