The province wants to remove four concrete-filled railcars left near the mouth of the Walton River after a string of failed tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy, and is now looking for qualified contractors to take on the job.
According to the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), the 42’ x 9’ x 15’ railcars now pose a navigational hazard and are an eyesore to locals. Their team is overseeing the safe, environmentally responsible removal of the obstructions along with any remaining debris.
In a letter to Acadia News, FORCE Executive Director Lindsay Bennett says Occurrent Power, formerly Big Moon Power, was the latest company attempting to harness the Bay of Fundy’s tides. They planned to use the railcars as gravity bases to anchor a paddlewheel-style tidal device to the seabed.
Bennett says the railcars were originally intended for deployment at the FORCE test site in Minas Passage, where tidal technology is demonstrated and monitored. Occurrent abandoned its project after encountering debris from an earlier failed tidal venture by a previous operator.
Google maps view of Minas Passage. PHOTO: Google Maps
Transport Canada ordered Occurrent to remove materials from the bay, but the company filed for insolvency in 2024, leaving railcars and hazardous debris behind. The project, announced in June 2023 to explore Bay of Fundy tidal energy, collapsed after the company faced about 1,300 tonnes of turbine debris from a previous bankruptcy.
The province is now seeking qualified contractors with marine salvage or heavy civil experience to submit proposals by April 17 at 5 p.m. ADT. The selected contractor will remove the roughly 300-tonne railcars and clear all remaining debris.
Future development of the Bay of Fundy
Bennett says tidal stream energy “remains an active and growing renewable sector—both in Canada and globally.”
In November, Nova Scotia approved two new tidal energy projects at the FORCE site, giving contracts to Eauclaire Tidal and Orbital Marine Power. Together, they can generate up to 16.5 megawatts using as many as six floating turbines.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada approved both projects under the Fisheries Act. They’re the first to follow Canada’s new “staged approach,” a step-by-step system developed with Natural Resources Canada to protect the environment while giving investors more certainty.
The approach allows projects to begin with one device and expand in phases based on monitoring under the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act.
Each developer may install up to three turbines in Minas Passage, and Bennett says each 2.4-megawatt unit can power about 2,000 homes.
