Developing the Fundy Tidal Power Resource

Since the inauguration of the La Rance plant in France in 1966, appreciable progress has been made in developing improved power plant equipment and construction methods. Studies, aimed at the conceptual design of a single major tidal plant at Fundy which would export most of its energy to the New England market, resulted in energy costs lower than that of nuclear energy. Despite this apparent competitiveness of Fundy tidal power, a major plant was never built due to certain disadvantages. Means of surmounting the disadvantages are presented, which may clear the way for further development. Before building the first major tidal plant at Fundy a master plan for the development of Fundy´s total tidal power resource should be in place. It is shown that through a well planned phased development, each new phase will enhance the value of preceeding phases so that, once the decision to build the first major plant is made, the decisions to proceed with subsequent phases will readily follow.