Cape Breton Tidal Energy Resource Assessment

In support of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Cape Breton Region, inclusive of the Bras d’Or Lakes, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) units were deployed at Barra Strait, Seal Island Bridge and Carey Point to collect tidal flow information.  Potential sites for tidal energy development in Cape Breton have previously been identified in the Canada Hydraulic Centre’s 2006 Inventory of Canada’s Marine Renewable Energy Resources and included Barra Strait, Seal Island Bridge and Carey Point. Recent interest from community groups and Tidal Energy Conversion (TEC) device developers in Barra Strait and Seal Island Bridge led to the need to collect ADCP data in these areas. The ADCPs deployed were bottom mounted, with a double acoustic release system for redundancy.  The collected data collection has provided recommendations regarding the potential for these, and other, tidal energy developments in Cape Breton.