Cape Sharp Tidal has recovered its 2MW tidal turbine from the Bay of Fundy after untangling the line that caused a two-month-long delay in its retrieval.
The turbine was recovered on Thursday, June 15, after it was set free from the tangled line around its subsea base that was preventing its safe retrieval, a spokeswoman for Cape Sharp Tidal, Stacey Pineau, confirmed.
Cape Sharp Tidal previously planned to move the turbine to a different location in the Bay of Fundy for short-term hydrodynamic testing, and then to Port Saint John for maintenance, but the operation has been cancelled.
Pineau said: “Based on an initial inspection of the turbine we made the decision to move it directly from West Bay to Saint John. This means that the work planned for St. Mary’s Bay will no longer take place.”
The maintenance work to take place at Port Saint John will involve modifications to the components on the turbine control center (TCC), an electrical sub-system attached to the subsea base and connected to the turbine.
The TCC is like a subsea substation that enables the transformation of raw power from the generator into grid-compatible AC power. It also sends operational and environmental sensor data to shore in real-time through the subsea cable, according to Cape Sharp Tidal.
Once the maintenance work is completed, the turbine will be redeployed to the FORCE site and a second 2MW turbine for the project will be deployed later this year, Cape Sharp Tidal confirmed.
To remind, the turbine was installed at one of the testing berths of the Fundy Ocean Research Center (FORCE) in November 2016.