MAINE TESTS TIDAL POWER

Ocean Renewable Power Tests Tidal Power System in Maine
August 20, 2010 (Sustainable Business via Reuters)

"…[The Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)] Beta Power System has successfully generated grid-compatible power from tidal currents at its Cobscook Bay site in Eastport, Maine…ORPC says the device is the largest ocean energy "power plant" ever installed in U.S. waters.

"The system's core component, the proprietary Turbine Generator Unit, or TGU, is deployed below ORPC's research and testing vessel and has a maximum design capacity of 60 kilowatts. Performance test results show that the TGU's electrical output meets or exceeds expectations for the full range of current velocities…[T]he Beta Power System data…[will be used in] the design of its commercial TidGen Power System, planned for installation in Eastport in late 2011…The TidGen Power System will be connected to the New England grid…and will generate enough electricity to power 50 to 75 homes…"

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"Tidal energy has the potential to be a billion dollar industry in Maine within the next seven to ten years, creating hundreds of jobs. The bodies of water around Eastport have some of the most robust tidal currents in the world.

"ORPC's Beta Power System incorporates several technological innovations…[including] the TGU's proprietary advanced design cross-flow turbines, engineered with 100 percent composite materials, its permanent magnet generator, a substantially composite support frame, and a power electronics system that converts the generator's variable output to grid-compatible power…Through [their] three-year partnership…UMaine and ORPC [will be able] to better understand and help minimize any potential interaction between ORPC's technology and marine life…"

From oceanrenewablepower via YouTube

"Over the next two months, ORPC will also be demonstrating how tidal energy can be delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard for use at its Eastport station through a battery electrical supply system that is charged aboard the Energy Tide 2. This is the first application of tidal energy by a federal agency.

"ORPC holds FERC preliminary permits and is in the process of obtaining FERC pilot project licenses for tidal energy sites in Maine and Alaska, which have been designated world-class tidal resources by the World Energy Congress. ORPC's work is funded in part by Maine Technology Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy."