Engineers predict tidal energy could run county homes

Harnessing the mega tides of the Fundy region to generate electricity is hardly a new idea. But submerging "windmills" and using the tidal stream rather than air currents to push the blades around is a recent technology -- one that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a California-based research firm that serves the electrical generating industry, has been considering for the waters off Eastport and Lubec in site surveys since last fall. The engineers who did the feasibility study presented their preliminary findings at a public conference attended by more than 80 people May 11 at the Boat School in Eastport.

As explained by project leader Roger Bedard, the principle of using turbines to convert the kinetic energy of ocean currents into electrical energy is more analogous to wind power than to traditional waterpower projects that rely on dams and reservoirs to trap and release tidewater. Three potential sites in the area, all deepwater, were studied: Western Passage, Lubec Narrows and outer Cobscook Bay. EPRI also has studies ongoing in four other American states and two Canadian provinces.

Bedard described the research project as more like an academic study than a development proposal. Further studies are needed on the effects of the technology on navigation, fisheries and the environment. Enough work has been done, he believes, to support a pilot project in the region for which, he guessed, about $5 million would be needed. He noted that a pilot project for 1,000 homes would require the same complicated permitting process as full-blown development would. If only 15% of the tidal stream resource were tapped, the engineers estimated, enough power could be generated to run all Washington County residences.

Underwater turbines are now operational in the United Kingdom, in a tidal stream in Devon, other sites in Europe and Nova Scotia, and a small project has been approved by the New York Department of Environmental Protection for the East River. The turbines are submerged under at least 15 meters of water, so that navigation is not impeded, and they may be raised above the surface for servicing and maintenance. Because of the depth of the turbines, the system is not affected by storms.

George Hagerman, another engineer on the research team, said that tidal stream power is where wind power was in the 1980s. "Now wind power is at the cost level of fossil fuels," he said, and he expects tidal stream power to achieve more cost effective levels over time as well. Bedard predicted it would displace diesel fuel and hedge the volatility of fossil fuel prices.

Bedard said EPRI's research is "completely transparent," and 18 separate reports may be accessed on their website at <www.epri.com/oceanenergy/>. Bedard may be reached by e-mail addressed to <rbedard@epri.com>.

In summing up, the project leader said, "I think we've made a compelling case that this technology will be a part of diversified energy technologies for the future -- it's clean, there are no greenhouse gases and no aesthetic issues. It's one of the most environmentally benign generation technologies."

The team also included Bob Judd, a Californian who is a part-time resident of Lubec and a one-time energy consultant to former Governor Jerry Brown. The team said the project "from the outset" has had the full support of state Senator Kevin Raye, who was present at the conference, and U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, whose representatives attended. Raye said he would consult with Snowe and Collins to see if federal funding could help underwrite a pilot project in the Quoddy region. The engineering team also said the project "got lots of help" from Bangor Hydroelectric and Will Hopkins, executive director of the Cobscook Bay Resource Center.