FREDERICTON, New Brunswick (AP) – The owners of Canada’s largest oil refinery have been given approval for a study to harness the world’s highest tides as a source of power for generating electricity in Canadian waters off the Maine coast.

Irving Oil will partner with Huntsman Marine Science Center of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, to research 11 sites on the Bay of Fundy for the potential of tidal power generation.

The bay is surrounded by Nova Scotia on the east and New Brunswick and Maine on the west.

It has among the world’s most powerful tides.

New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources has given approval for a two-year study that will look into tidal patterns, climatic conditions and behavior of aquatic life in the selected areas.