Cape Sharp Tidal turbine travels to Saint John for repair

OpenHydro tidal turbine in Halifax (Photo: Cape Sharp Tidal)
OpenHydro tidal turbine in Halifax (Photo: Cape Sharp Tidal)

 
The faulty part identified on OpenHydro’s 2MW tidal turbine will be replaced in Saint John, located on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick.

The first OpenHydro turbine, which was moved to Halifax Harbour for ballasting works, has left Halifax on Friday, August 12, on the Scotia Tide barge, and is now en route to Saint John.

The transit is expected to take six days, Cape Sharp Tidal informed.

“Saint John offers the advantage of being closer to the Bay of Fundy when the work is completed to replace the components,” Sarah Dawson, Cape Sharp Tidal’s spokeswoman said for LocalXpress, Canadian online news provider.

The works on the second turbine for the project began earlier in Pictou, according to Cape Sharp Tidal.

To remind, OpenHydro, which together with Emera makes up a joint venture of Cape Sharp Tidal, identified a problem with a fastening component in its open-centre turbines, which was traced back to the supplier.

Cape Sharp Tidal decided to replace the faulty components to ensure long-term performance reliability of the turbines.

Each of the two turbines for the project is 2MW in capacity, 16 m in diameter and 20 m in height, with the weight of 1,000 tonnes, and once installed they’re expected to power 1,000 homes.