Design and Optimization of a Tidal Power Generation Plant in the Bay of Fundy, Canada

The future of tidal power has yet to be fully understood globally. Currently, only the potential energy of the oceans has been harnessed. However, there is great opportunity to extract the ocean’s kinetic energy as well. This study examines the feasibility and optimization of a potential tidal turbine design in the Minas Passage in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. The study aims to minimize capital costs while ensuring a high profit margin. A community of five thousand people was used as the base case requiring a minimum of 2.7 MW annually. Using a generalized solver for non-linear equations, it was determined that the optimum depth for the turbine would be 75 m below the ocean surface with a diameter of 45 m and a rated capacity of 5.3 MW. The 45 m is acknowledged as the apparent diameter though and a turbine array would be much better suited in order to reduce operations and maintenance costs and disturbances in the energy supply. Over a 20-year design life, the $7.9 million dollar turbine is expected to gain a profit of $44.7 million while factoring in operations and maintenance costs and capital costs. This preliminary analysis proves there is a promising future for tidal turbines. However, more extensive analyses into array type systems and their environmental impacts are required before the full implications of such a project can be understood.