Nova Scotia

Cape Sharp Tidal turbine arrives in Halifax Harbour

The first of two giant tidal turbines to be installed in the Bay of Fundy arrive in Halifax Harbour for the next stage of the project.

Company's turbines are expected to generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes

Cape Sharp Tidal turbine arriving in Halifax harbour Thursday morning. (CBC)

The first of two giant tidal turbines to be installed in the Bay of Fundy arrived in Halifax Harbour Thursday morning for the next stage of the project.

Cape Sharp Tidal had one of the 1,000-tonne turbines hauled by barge to Halifax for ballasting work in the coming days.

The turbine's steel subsea base will be ballasted with concrete then tested and inspected for use. Cape Sharp says the turbine will rest on the sea floor under its own weight.

The Halifax work will take about 10 days.

Two turbines like this one will be launched in the Bay of Fundy. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

The operation was moved from the Pictou shipyard where the turbine was built to make room for the second five-storey-high turbine to be assembled. 

There is no timeline for deployment of the turbines.

Cape Sharp's turbines are destined for the Minas Passage and are expected to generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.

The company, a partnership of OpenHydro and Emera, is one of several that plan to test different turbine technology in the Bay of Fundy.

With files from The Canadian Press