Tidal power firm winds up Nova Scotia project, blames red tape and delays from Ottawa

CITYnews halifax \ By The Canadian Press

A firm that hoped to create power from the Bay of Fundy’s massive tides is winding up operations due to what it says are excessive regulatory hurdles from the federal Fisheries Department.

Jason Hayman, chief executive of U.K.-based Sustainable Marine Energy, says his investors have confirmed they are placing their Canadian subsidiary into bankruptcy after fruitless talks with the department.

He says his firm will wind up all its operations in Canada, resulting in losses of approximately $30 million to $40 million.

The executive says the firm’s struggles will likely discourage other investors and risks killing private investment for potential test sites in the Minas Basin.

However, the Fisheries Department says it had offered the company the right to install a turbine in the Minas Basin for one year and monitor if fish were colliding with the equipment.

Hayman says the federal government was unclear about how much information it would have needed to satisfy its concerns about potential harm to fish.