Scottish firm expands presence in Canada with 12.5MW tidal award 

Canadian tidal developer Eauclaire Tidal and Scottish renewable energy company Orbital Marine Power have received 12.5MW of new tidal energy licences from the Province of Nova Scotia under the 2025 tidal energy procurement process. 

According to Orbital Marine Power, the award includes two 15-year power purchase contracts, along with seabed and grid connection rights at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) in the Bay of Fundy.

The new licences will support the installation of six Orbital O2-X tidal turbines across the existing FORCE facility in the Minas Passage. Once operational, each turbine is expected to generate about 180 GWh of predictable, clean energy over the contract period.

Andrew Scott, Orbital Marine Power CEO, said: “This tremendous news provides the critical first steps in an exciting, scalable vision for Orbital to work with our partners, investors, supply chain and public sector stakeholders across Nova Scotia and Canada to capture the huge sustainable benefits that can flow from harnessing the clean energy that moves like clockwork through the Bay of Fundy.”

This is said to mark Orbital’s largest project outside the UK and a key step in developing tidal energy from the Bay of Fundy, home to one of the world’s strongest tidal resources.

Eauclaire and Orbital have been collaborating on tidal stream projects in Nova Scotia since 2023. Orbital will co-own and operate the projects through its investment in Eauclaire and act as the EPC contractor for the delivery of its six turbines.

“Our partnership will deliver reliable, emissions-free electricity to the Nova Scotia power grid from the Bay of Fundy, which is known to be one of the best tidal energy resources in the world,” said Jane Lowrie, President of Eauclaire.

“We look forward to working with our First Nation partners and local communities to build a strong tidal power industrial base that will create specialised, permanent employment opportunities right here in Nova Scotia. We greatly appreciate the support from the Nova Scotia government that has got us to this stage.”

The award strengthens investor confidence in tidal stream technology as part of the clean energy mix and supports Nova Scotia’s emergence as a centre for commercial-scale tidal power. Eauclaire and Orbital are now moving ahead with deployment planning and industry development in the region.

Vice-President of Eauclaire, Jennifer Lewis, added: “Our plan is to deploy these tidal generation units to help Nova Scotia achieve its emission reduction targets, including decreasing reliance on coal-fired generation, while creating sustainable employment opportunities for Nova Scotia residents.”

In April, Marine classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) awarded Orbital Marine Power an International Electrotechnical Commission for Renewable Energy (IECRE) feasibility statement for its O2-X tidal energy converter (TEC).