New Funding to Advance Tidal Energy Monitoring in the Bay of Fundy
Source: | · FORCE · | September 19, 2025
Today, Natural Resources Canada announced $8.2M in funding to support the Ocean Sensor Innovation Platforms (OSIP) project (image below). OSIP will bring together developers, scientists, technologists, Indigenous Knowledge Holders, and regulators to advance environmental sensing solutions for high-flow marine environments.
Led by the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), OSIP will deploy an autonomous, floating platform for sea-surface environmental monitoring as well as submersible sensor systems deployed on the seafloor. In future tidal turbine deployments, sensors and methods tested by these platforms will capture essential data on fish–turbine interactions, addressing one of tidal energy’s greatest challenges: accurately measuring and monitoring risk to marine species.
Why OSIP matters
Communities, regulators, and developers need trusted evidence to evaluate the effects of tidal energy. OSIP is designed to:
Test and compare new uses for instruments such as optical cameras, imaging sonars, and acoustic receivers in high-flow conditions.
Analyze multiple datasets to create a more complete picture of marine life near turbines.
Trial rapid, wireless sea-to-shore data transfer to improve real-time monitoring.
This work will help reduce uncertainty, inform project authorization decisions, attract investment and support responsible tidal energy growth.