Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project

Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project (HM177T)

Location: Welshpool, NB E5E 1B3 Charlotte County
Country: Canada
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N 44° 52.575', W 66° 58.315'

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Projet de Centrale ?lectrique Mar?e Motrice

During the years FDR summered on Campobello, the daughter of one of Campobello's summer colonists married Dexter P. Cooper, an eminent American engineer. Cooper studied the tremendous rise and fall of Passamaquoddy Bay's tides and became obsessed with the potential of generating electricity from the 2 billion cubic metres (70 billion cubic feet) of seawater that entered and left the bay twice each day.

Passamaquoddy tides are among the highest in the world, and range from a maximum rise and fall near 9.1 metres (30 feet) to a minimum rise and fall of about 3.7 metres (12 feet). With a twice-daily average change in water level of 6 metres (20 feet), the tides are ideal for power production.

In the 1930's, Cooper proposed the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, a plan for capturing the energy stored in the area's tides. His initial proposal was for an international two-pool system (see map). Passamaquoddy Bay and Cobscook Bay would be dammed and the incoming tide trapped by gates and dams. As the tide fell, water would be allowed to escape into Cobscook Bay through turbine electrical generators (see drawing) at Moose Island in Eastport. Water would then be held in Cobscook Bay until low tide, when it would be released through another set of gates into the Bay of Fundy.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt favored the development of federal hydropower projects to provide consumers with low-cost energy. FDR knew Cooper from summers spent on Campobello. He was very familiar with the area's tides and was a strong proponent of Cooper's plan (photo 1).

The Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project Commission of the United States Federal Emergency Administration recommended initial construction of a one-pool Cobscook Bay project. This was one of the largest engineering projects carried out by the U.S. government during the Great Depression and the New Deal, employing more than 3,000 Works Projects Administration workers.

Construction began with tidal dikes built by the United States Corps of Army Engineers. One dike connected Treat and Dudley Islands. Two others joined the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation to Carlow Island and Carlow Island to Moose Island in Eastport. The dike between Treat and Dudley Islands can easily be seen at low tide.

Because of political infighting, the U.S. Congress failed to appropriate additional funds to continue construction, and the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power [P]roject was abandoned in 1936. While still technically feasible, the impact on the fisheries and environment, and current costs render the project impractical.
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? l'?poque o? FDR passa ses ?t ? l'?le de Campobello, la jeune fille d'un des habitants de colonies estivales c?l?bra son mariage ? un jeune homme du nom de Dexter P. Cooper, un ing?nieur professionnel am?ricain. ? l'?poque, celui-ci avait fait de nombreuses recherches sur le mouvement intense des mar?es de la baie Passamaquoddy et il ?tait convaincu du potentiel ?nerg?tique provenant des deux milliards de m?tres cubiques (70 milliards de pieds cube) d'eau sal?e qui fait son entr?e et sa sortie deux fois par jour dans la baie.

Les mar?es de la baie Passamaquoddy sont parmi les plus ?lev?es au monde. On peut observer des mont?es/baisses d'un maximum de 9.1 m?tres (30 pi.) jusqu'a des mont?es/baisses d'un minimum 3.7 m?tres (12 pi.). Cette fluctuation, deux fois par jour, produit un changement du niveau d'eau de pr de 6 m?tres (20 pi.) et offre des conditions id?ales la production d'?lectricit?.

C'est au cours de ann?es 1930 que Dexter P. Cooper mit en branle son projet de centrale ?lectrique mar?e motrice pouvant permettre de capturer l'?nergie entrepos?e dans le mouvement des mar?es de la r?gion. Sa proposition initiale comprenait la construction de deux bassins internationaux (voir carte). La construction de digues aux deux extr?mit des baies de Passamaquoddy et de Cobscook devait permettre de capturer l'?coulement des eaux provenant des mar?es. Lors de la baisse de la mar?e, les eaux se seraient ?chapp?es dans la baie Cobscook, sous le mouvement de turbines ?lectriques situ?es ? l'?le Moose, Eastport (voir esquisse). Les eaux auraient ?t? retenues dans la baie Cobscook jusqu'? la baisse des mar?es et auraient ?t? achemin?es dans la baie de Fundy ? travers un autre syst?me de conduits.

Le Prident Franklin D. Roosevelt ?tait g?n?ralement favorable ? la r?alisation de projets f?d?raux de production d'?lectricit? permettant la r?duction des prix de l'?lectricit?. Non seulement FDR connaissait-il personnellement Dexter P. Cooper, ?tant donn? ses nombreux ?t pass sur l'?le de Campobello, mais il connaissait ?galement tr bien le mouvement des mar?es de la r?gion. Donc, FDR ?tait un fervent partisan du projet de Cooper (photo 2).

La commission de projet de centrale ?lectrique mar?e motrice de la baie Passamaquoddy du Service f?d?ral am?ricain de la gestion d'urgence fit la recommandation initiale de la construction d'un des bassins de la baie Cobscook. Une fois r?alis?e, cette initiative reprentait l'un des plus grands projets d'ing?nierie entrepris par le gouvernement am?ricain durant les p?riodes de la Grande d?pression et du "New Deal". Ce projet aura aussi employ? plus de 3,000 travailleurs.

La construction des digues fut entreprise par le United States Corps of Army Engineer[s]. L'une des digues relia les ?les de Treat et Dudley. Deux autres digues reli?rent la rerve Passamaquoddy de Pleasant Point ? i'?le Carlow et l'?le Carlow ? i'?le Moose de Eastport. On peut facilement apercevoir la digue reliant les ?les Treat et Dudley lors de la mar?e basse.

Suite d'un long d?bat politique, le Congr am?ricain prit la d?cision d'annuler l'appropriation des fonds n?cessaires ? la poursuite du projet deconstruction. Le projet de centrale ?lectrique mar?e motrice fut donc abandonn? en 1936. Bien qu'il serait encore possible de poursuivre cette initiative d'un point de vue technique, l'impact sur les p?cheries, l'environnement et les co?ts associ ? ce projet le rend aujourd'hui peu r?aliste.
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Map.
Proposed two-pool Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project gates and dams.
Carte.
Projet de construction des deux bassins de la centrale ?lectrique de Passamaquoddy - les ports et les digues.

Photo 1.
President Roosevelt looking at model of Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project.
Le Prident Roosevelt examine la maquette du projet de la centrale ?lectrique.
Details
HM NumberHM177T
Tags
Placed ByRoosevelt Campobello International Park
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 21st, 2014 at 1:41pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)19T E 660187 N 4971204
Decimal Degrees44.87625000, -66.97191667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 44° 52.575', W 66° 58.315'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds44° 52' 34.50" N, 66° 58' 18.90" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)209
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 5208 Unnamed Road, Welshpool NB E5E 1B3, CA
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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