Assessment of tidal current energy in the Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy:

AbstractThe tidal power available for electricity generation from in-stream turbines placed in the Minas Passage of the Bay of Fundy is examined. A previously derived theory is adapted to model the effect of turbine drag on the flow through the Minas Passage and the tidal amplitude in the Minas Basin. The theoretical maximum power production over a tidal cycle is determined by the product of the amplitude of the forcing tide in the Bay of Fundy and the undisturbed volumetric flowrate through the Minas Passage. Although the extraction of the maximum power will reduce the flowrate through the Minas Passage and the tides in the Minas Basin by over 30 per cent, a significant portion of the maximum power can be extracted with little change in tidal amplitude as the initial power generation causes only an increase in the phase lag of the basin tides. Two-dimensional, finite-element, numerical simulations of the Bay of Fundy—Gulf of Maine system agree remarkably well with the theory. The simulations suggest that...