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Ten months after the Nova Scotia government’s Energy Department took the lead on finding a way to recover an abandoned tidal turbine from the depths of the Bay of Fundy, officials still cannot say when — or if — the 1,300-tonne device might be removed.
In an email last week, the executive director of the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) said survey work by a remote-operated vehicle has been completed, as has a high-resolution multi-beam scan of the area.
“We’re now gathering additional input to assess the feasibility of safely retrieving the turbine and ultimately help inform any decisions by the province,” Lindsay Bennett said.
A spokesperson for the Energy Department said FORCE has been asked to look at all options to safely retrieve the turbine and next steps would be determined when officials have more information. They did not respond directly to a question about whether there is a commitment to remove the device.
Determining how to recover the turbine has been an issue since OpenHydro Group Ltd., the parent company of device owner Cape Sharp Tidal Venture, declared bankruptcy more than seven years ago.
FORCE made it a condition of another tidal venture’s berth at the Parrsboro-based site that it remove the device, but that plan was scuttled after Occurrent Power also went bust.
That prompted then energy minister Trevor Boudreau to say his department, which is now helmed by Premier Tim Houston, and FORCE would work together on the matter.
While the cost for the effort is unknown, there remains a $4.5-million bond Occurrent was required to post that can be used toward the recovery bill.
Meanwhile, Bennett said she hopes to have an update soon on efforts to remove four boxcars filled with concrete that were to be used as moorings for the now-defunct Occurrent project.
“The abandoned railcars remain a navigational hazard and an eyesore,” she writes.
“We understand the community’s frustration. We are providing technical input to the province to scope the removal work, maintain navigational aids on the railcars and help determine next steps.”
Transport Canada ordered the removal of the railcars in September 2024. As part of that order, buoys had to be installed to mark their locations for the benefit of boaters.
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